Taming the Swan
by Mela-Schme
Summary: Bella Swan is your typical rebellious teen, complete with an attitude and cold personality. But what happens when she is forced to spend the summer at her grandparents' house? Will the other kids in the cul-de-sac warm up her cold shoulder? AH, AU, OOC.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N.: Hello people willing to read my story! As you may have noticed, this will be my first posting on this site. I have written before, but never really gotten up the courage to let anyone see my work. It makes me nervous just thinking about it now. _ **

**So read, comment, whatever! (Just no flamers please, I know I'm average.)**

**Disclaimer: Twilight and none of its characters shall ever be mine**

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Bella P.O.V.

I stared out the car window as we drove. To ease some of the boredom that consumed me, I counted the evenly spaced trees that adorned the side of the road. People strolled on the sidewalks; joggers, old people, and couples. I tapped my finger impatiently at the pure predictability of it all.

It was a moderately cloudy Sunday afternoon. My mother, Renee, was situated in the driver's seat, her face a mask of uncertainty. I sighed as I looked from her to the suburban neighborhood that she was forcing me to spend my summer in.

"Bella, you know I-"

I grunted.

She huffed, something we both did when we were frustrated. "_Okay_ _then_. I'm trying to be the good parent, I really am. You may think I'm being a big bitch, and that doesn't matter. You can think whatever you want. However," she glared at me, as if daring me to object, "your disrespectful behavior better not be a part of your visit with your grandparents. There will be consequences to everything you do; Grandpa won't let you get away with anything."

Did she really think I cared? Her words had basic meaning, but I just couldn't take them seriously.

We pulled into a cul-de-sac and parked next to the same beige-colored house that my grandparents had lived in since the beginning of time. The neighborhood was post ghetto, with only minimal graffiti and trash littering the ground. My grandparents' house was probably the cleanest house around for miles.

I ignored Mom as she babbled on about self-discipline and the importance of having a positive attitude. I just tuned her out, even though I was without my precious i-Pod. I wasn't sure I would survive the summer without it.

I got out of the car and hauled my meager backpack over my shoulder, watching numbly as my feet took me up to the front door and Mom rung the bell. My grandma came and answered the door, smiling brightly at me, the age-telling creases fanning around her eyes. Laugh lines, some would call them. She gave me a hug just as welcoming as her smile, but I tried to keep my face defiant. I didn't want my mom thinking it would be so easy to suppress me.

With any luck, it wouldn't.

"Bella, it's so good to see you, dear," Grandma said sincerely. "We've missed you so much."

I just nodded, not even attempting a smile.

"Where's dad?" Mom asked, her head cocking to the side slightly in question.

Grandma rolled her eyes, finally showing some sense of negativity. "Oh, he's over at Donald's house. Playing poker. I swear, that man needs to put his family first every now and then."

Typical of my grandfather. He wasn't any kind of sensitive - sometimes I wondered if he even felt simple human emotions. I was glad I wouldn't have to see him right away, though. He would end up being the bane of my existence this summer, more than anything else.

As my mom continued to chat idly, I walked past Grandma and up the stairs to the guest room.

_Might as well get used to this place_, I thought bitterly.

* * *

**Well? Let me know what you think! Or not. But then Angstella won't be happy. **

**And don't worry, to those of you who're concerned - Edward will make an appearance soon. Very, _very_ soon.**

**Also, the chapters for this story will be undeniably longer. This first entry is like a sample of what is to come. **

**Asta-la-bye-bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Whoo! Thanks to those people who read! **

**Chapter Two...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters.**

* * *

Bella P.O.V.

After Mom left, the rest of the afternoon was actually peaceful. Grandma got the message when I didn't answer her knocking the third time. I just wanted to be left alone for the two months I was going to be spending in this stupid place.

I lay on my bed, staring up at the ceiling, the pure silence making my arms twitch. I wanted to have my ear buds in, listening to my music, escaping from the total nothingness. I ground my teeth together thinking about how my father had confiscated it; his cold mask of a face, my rebellious cries. That had done no good. He took it anyway.

I sat up, running my hands through my hair. It was so boring in their house. The only thing they owned that could be considered electronic was an old TV that never had a clear picture, and even that was usually dominated by Grandpa. His eyes were always glued to the screen, watching some historical document or a sports game. The perfect example of an adult man who places all of the responsibility onto his wife and others.

_Even if I say I want to be left alone, I still need_ something _to do..._

There was another knock at the door, and I sighed. I couldn't continue turning her away. I wasn't completely heartless.

"Yeah?" I called.

The door opened, and revealed the slumping form of Grandpa Peter. His balding head had a ring of gray hair that somehow was surviving his aging years, framing his large ears and liver spots. His blue-grey eyes zeroed in on me, and I had the hunch that he would take any excuse to get me in trouble. That was just his personality.

"Grandma wants you downstairs. It's time for dinner."

I nodded, and he hobbled away. I couldn't help but wonder, as I watched his crippled form, how he had ever been this great, big man in my life. In my memories, he was always my favorite grandparent, hugging me, playing with me, and just overall loving me. His old smile, which I could clearly picture as a little girl, was now gone, replaced with a mopey countenance that gave me goosebumps.

I stood and walked downstairs, the inviting aromas floating up from the kitchen making my stomach growl. I reached the bottom of the stairs and immediately widened my eyes.

The table, which had previously been small, made only for two people, had been given and add-on, and now held an enormous amount of food; green bean casserole, fried chicken, salads, garlic bread, and even things like home made fries. I turned my gaze from the bounty to my grandma, standing by the sink, her face looking proud.

"I wasn't sure what you liked, so I made what I could find in the pantry."

What was I supposed to say to that? "Thanks, Grandma, for making me feel like a total prick"? So I nodded, taking the farthest seat away from where my grandfather was already stuffing his face. Grandma took the seat next to me and put her hand on my shoulder.

"Honey, it's so good to have you here."

Jesus. Was she making me feel guilty on purpose?

"Pete," Grandma muttered with a scolding tone. "Could you please wait for us to get to the table? Our granddaughter is here for the first time in two years, and you don't even have a word of kindness to say to her?"

He raised his eyebrows and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "Have you forgotten _why _she's here, Lorraine? Charlie and Renee didn't just send her for a pleasure cruise. The girl is a brat - a disrespectful baby who can't even-"

"Shut the hell up," I hissed. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know enough, young lady." He slammed his hand on the table, nearly making my glass of water tip over. "And you will not talk to me like that when you're here. You'd better get rid of that attitude you've been having with your grandmother, while you're at it. I will not stand for that. She has done nothing to deserve that kind of childish behavior from you."

There was a moment of quiet as I tried to come up with something wittier to say than _fuck you_. Nothing came, so I just kept my mouth shut, angrily dishing a portion of casserole onto my plate. It made a loud, satisfying clank in the awkward silence.

Grandma said nothing, choosing to eat with a contemplating look on her face. I, however, chose to eat with a scowl on my face, glaring at Grandpa every time he would spare me a glance. His face would stay the same hard stare that it had been.

It was startling when Grandma broke the silence.

"Bella..." she began, biting her lip. "I have some boys coming over to help me with the yard work in a little while. If you'd like, I could introduce you to them..." her tone was hesitant.

Oh, great. Just what I needed to make this day even better than it was - to meet the neighborhood.

"Sure," I shrugged, turning my eyes downcast. Even without being yelled at for disrespecting her, I had already felt horrible enough. I knew I wouldn't be able to turn down much more of her offers. Besides... maybe meeting some people my own age would help to ease the pain of being in suburban purgatory. "How old are they?" I asked, not looking up.

"Oh," she sounded excited. "There's two of them - Emmett and Edward Cullen. They have to be the two nicest boys I've ever met. Their family moved in next door about six months ago. Their father is just a gentleman, and his wife is a sweetheart. One of them has some high-paying job... I can't recall what, but it's enough so that the two boys both have their own cars. The two of them came over with their kids to introduce themselves. It was so pleasant! They have a daughter too, Alice, who I believe is the same age as you. The two boys are older, but I'm can't remember by how much."

God, did she have a mouth on her. I guess I knew where I got it from sometimes.

"Lorraine, don't bother. The girl will just make enemies of our neighbors. She'll alienate them before they even meet her."

My head snapped up to glare at Grandpa. "Seriously, what is your problem? What did I do that was so horrible to all of you? You keep lecturing me and scolding me, but for what? I'm not a child, you know. I'll be seventeen in less than five months - more than qualified as an adult, in my opinon."

Grandpa listened to my arguement with a calm face, which made me want to slap him. Then he suddenly smiled.

Oh shit.

"Okay, then, Isabella," he spoke clearly and formally, leaning forward, looking more and more pleased. "Since you are so close to being an adult, then I have a proposition for you. Why don't you start calling me by the proper, 'Peter', and I will call you 'Isabella.' No more of that childish nickname you seem to prefer."

Grandma gave him an incredulous look. "What on earth are you doing? You can't ask that of her!"

He raised his eyebrows. "Can't I? If she wants to be an adult, then by all means, we'll treat her like one." He turned his piercing gaze back to me. "So, what do you think, Isabella?"

That name made me twitch. But he was trying to prove that I was immature, and I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction. "Fine with me, Peter."

He lost his smug expression, and I gained my own.

Before we could have another go at biting each others' heads off, the doorbell rang, and Grandma shuffled to the front door, calling, "It must be the boys."

"Hey, Mrs. S! How's it going?" A booming voice asked, sounding way too cheerful.

Grandma laughed. "Oh, thank you for asking, Emmett. It's good to see you both."

"Thank you for having us," another male voice added.

I decided it would be better to get the meeting over with, so I put my dishes in the sink and walked into the front hallway.

My grandmother stood, still chatting casually with the two boys that waited - seemingly patient - in the doorway. They were both tall, but the larger one had the physique of a miniature hulk and dark, curly hair falling childishly around his face. He was handsome - hell, they both were. But the other one... he had bronze-ish hair that fell over his eyes, and full lips, for a man... there was something else about him that bugged me, though...

I tried to think of another word to describe him, but then the two of them noticed me standing there.

"Whoa, is this your granddaughter?" The big one asked. I recognized the cheerful tone, so I knew he was Emmett. His eyes traveled up and down my body, which made me want to run up the stairs to the guest room. "I thought she was like, ten, from what you told us about her."

I gaped. "Ten? Sorry, but you're about seven years off, there."

The other one - Edward - raised his eyebrows. "She told us she was excited for us to finally meet her baby girl. You mean that isn't you?"

I stared at Grandma coldly, but she didn't look apologetic in the least.

"Alright, why don't I take you boys out into the backyard - I'll show you what I want to get done before it gets too dark."

They nodded and followed after her, both of them watching me as they did.

"Isabella, you should join them," I heard _Peter_ say. "Lorraine could use some help. She's trying to make the garden look nice."

I heard the sincerity in his voice. He wanted me to help, but I didn't know if he thought o fit for my sake or for his wife's. I wasn't sure if I cared. Instead of honoring him with a response, I followed after Edward outside. He looked behind him and grinned.

Once again, I had the strangest feeling...

"Okay, boys. I would love it if you would move all of these for me," Grandma gestured to a massive pile of cement blocks, all about two-times the size of my head. "Hmm... Probably over to that old tool shed. And I need a trench dug from this end of the wall to here," she pointed along the back of the yard. "But that may be too much for you tonight..."

Emmett shook his head. "Naw, Mrs. S. We've got it covered." He looked back at his brother and winked, rotating his arms. "Right, Eddsie?"

Edward's jaw clenched. "Of course, _Emmie_."

The two of them had this moment where they glared eachother down, both of their bodies tensing up. It was interesting to witness, but I didn't understand the point of it. Was it playful banter, or were they having an arguement?

Already, I was regretting meeting them.

My grandma finally seemed to realize I was there, and she smiled. "Do you want to help, dear? Or just watch?"

Emmett raised his eyebrows suggestively behind her back.

"I'll help, I guess." Of course I didn't want to help. But if I said "watch," then there would no doubt be strings of stupid jokes made by Emmett. He surprised me by giving me a thumbs-up and nodding, once again raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Oh. So he's one of _those_ kinds of guys.

Grandma went back inside, claiming to be getting some snacks ready for us to eat after we were done. I was still stuffed to the brim with dinner, so I was going to have to figure out a way to politely say no. That usually wasn't much of an option for me. Something in my genetic programming made it near impossible to treat even my own family with kindness. Only a choice few were able to lift my hard shell.

"Alright, let's get cracking!" Emmett boomed, pulling on brown leather gloves. He heaved one of the large blocks into his arms with apparent ease, his intimidating muscles rippling underneath his t-shirt.

Edward did the same, seeming to strain himself a little more than his brother to lift it. I stared at the gloves I'd shoved onto my hands and took a deep breath. I had some good athletic qualities about me, but one of them definitely wasn't heavy lifting. I grabbed the opposite edges of a block and pulled.

It was heavy. Okay, understatement - it was _fucking_ heavy. I lost my grip of it and fell backwards, flat on my ass.

My pained "Guaah!" alerted them to my fall, but Edward didn't hold out a hand, like Emmett did. Instead, he outright laughed, throwing his head back and bracing his hands against his knees. He continued guffawing, even as I brushed my jeans off and glared at him.

"Oh, shut up." I mumbled, going to try again.

He grinned. "You sure you want to do that? You might break a nail this time."

The first instinct that came to my mind was to make a retort, glare at him, do _something_. But for some reason, I just sat there, thinking, I finally figured out what was bugging me.

"You're a cocky bastard, you know that?" I said, straightening up to stare at him calmly.

He raised one eyebrow, all traces of smiling gone. "Really? And how do you know this?"

"Easy," I replied. "One: the way you walk. It's more like a weird saunter. Guys usually just walk around like any other guy, but you do it like you're on a runway or something. Two: when you first saw me, you gave this appraising glance, like you were checking me out. And three: you just give off this air like you think you're better than everyone else. When I first saw you, I'll admit, I thought you were hot, but with your personality you obviously know that. So with your knowledge of your own good looks, it brings down your attractiveness." I smiled sweetly. "Should I reiterate?"

Edward looked like he wanted to strangle me.

"Okaaay," Emmett intervened, stepping between the two of us. "Ed, keep it cool."

Edward shook his head, muttering, "Just hurry up and finish moving the blocks."

And with that, we went back to work. I managed to make my own system of moving them, by lifting with my legs carrying it all the way over to the shed without holding it entirely in my arms. It got easier as I got used to the weight and soon they were all moved, stacked in neat piles in the shed. I sighed, somewhat proud of my hard work.

"Oh, wow! That was quick," Grandma's voice rang from the window.

"We'll get started on the trench!" Emmett called. "How deep do you want it?"

As they discussed the depth and width, I watched Edward, leaning against one wall, his hands in his pockets. Sweat glistened on his forehead in the evening sun, making his hair plaster to it grossly. I walked over to him, mentally wondering if I was just fanning the flames, but not caring at the same time.

"Nice work," I offered, wiping my hand over my face.

He grunted.

Well. Now I knew why Mom hated when I did that. It was annoying.

"Look, I'm sorry. But you have to admit, laughing at a person you've just met is-"

"It's rude, blah, blah, it's disrespectful, blah, blah,_ blah_," he interrupted, looking down at me with condescending eyes. "I've heard it all before from my parents. I really don't need to hear it from some self-serving chick who doesn't even know me."

Before I could articulate the proper expletive, Emmett walked over and gave us the news on the digging.

I barely paid attention. I had too much of an urge to bash Edward Cullen over the head with the shovel Emmett handed me.

----------

When it was finally too dark to work, I was so relieved that I threw my shovel down on the ground and ran inside. Surprisingly, I was hungry, so I took one of the sandwhiches on a plate in the kitchen and drank so much water that my stomach was close to bursting. Then Edward walked in, Emmett right behind him, and my anger returned.

"Good work, you guys," Emmett said, grabbing three of the sandwhiches. "It was good working with you... you know, besides the parts when you guys nearly killed eachother."

I sighed. "It was good working with you, too, Emmett." I decided I didn't really mind Emmett. Even if his mind was gutter-based, the irritation I felt around him was nothing compared to what consumed me when I saw Edward.

He grabbed a sandwhich and ate it, watching me with this weird expression.

"What?" I snapped.

"You've got dirt on your face," he said.

I looked in the reflection of my glass. I sure didn't see anything. "What dir-"

And he smeared his mud-encrusted glove across my cheek.

* * *

**Let me know if you liked it! Please!!**

**And yes, I know that usually Bella is immediately smitten with Edward, but I know that doesn't happen very often in reality, especially with people of Bella's personality. So, I decided to change it up a little, though it's still painfully cliche.**

**Asta-la-bye-bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three! Just heat in the microwave for ten seconds and enjoy!**

**Hee hee! ;)**

**I'd like to give a quick thanks to marshie01 for reviewing! I appreciate it! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

* * *

I looked down at the ten dollar bill in my hand with my mouth twisted into a grimace.

"Honey, just take it. You did a wonderful job with the boys." Grandma said sincerely.

Emmett and Edward had bolted as soon as they had received their money, and I couldn't help but sigh with relief after they were gone, the door locked safely behind them. It was like the air had lost the edge to it, the tension. It also helped that my grandfather went to bed ridiculously early. It had been seven-twenty when he hobbled off to bed.

"I really appreciate you trying to make friends," she added, patting my hand and closing it around the valuable paper. Her nose wrinkled as she looked at me, though. "And wash your face, will you? That dirt is driving me crazy." And with that, she went up the stairs. A door closed a second later, and I knew she was going to sleep as well.

I felt the money in my hand, and shoved it into the pocket of my jeans, trying not to be too disgusted. I wasn't generally a gift person, and receiving money from Grandma only made me feel like I was using her. Even if she had given the Cullen boys ten extra dollars each.

As if I wouldn't notice.

I sighed, then started up the stairs, deciding to take a shower and get rid of the nasty feeling that crawled all over my skin. It had been a while since I'd done any manual labor, and while it felt good to stretch out my muscles, the sweat that came with it was not appreciated.

So I bolted up the stairs, ignoring the creaking protests of the boards as I went. I closed the door to the guest room and stripped down, grabbing my blue robe from my backpack and pulling it on, shivering in the sudden chill. During the day, it was scorching hot, but it got amazingly cold at night every now and then. I walked down the hall and into the second bathroom, feeling happy in being almost alone. But as soon as I got into the shower and turned on the water, something was definitely wrong.

I looked around the tub, on all of the corners, and saw, to my utter disbelief, that there was only one bottle of shampoo. No conditioner, no soap, not even a bottle of body wash. I felt my heart sink as I stared at the unfamiliar brand, lifting it and furrowing my brow hesitantly. I opened the tab and took a sniff.

Oh God. It smelled like old lady.

I grimaced as I put a dollop of the questionable goop into my palm, stared at it for a second - as if that would somehow help my situation - and put it into my hair, scrubbing it thoroughly. It smelled worse and worse as I went, but my hair felt cleaner, so I wasn't about to complain - I even washed my whole body with it, deciding that if I was going to smell awful, I might as well do it all the way.

After I got out of the shower, I toweled off and put my robe back on, staring at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes started at my exposed collarbone and went up, so I was looking myself in the eyes. I braced my hands against the counter and stared at the stranger in my skin. She looked just like me, except she wasn't - she was everything my father believed I was, and now I was starting to see her too; the bags under her eyes, the cracks in her lips, the anger burning in her eyes.

It was getting hard to find myself in her.

Running a hand through my hair and sighing, I shut off the light and went back into the guest room, falling asleep the instant my head hit the pillow.

----------

A few days later, my situation hadn't improved by much. The Cullen boys kept coming over every night, right after dinner. I stopped offering to help, instead opting to sit on my ass in the guest room and wait for them to finally leave. Emmett always said hello to me, winking or smiling. Edward, however, ignored me whenever he possibly could. That suited me just fine; if it was up to me, I would just do all the yard work myself and keep them out of the house entirely.

But whenever I talked to my grandma about this, she would always say the same thing.

"It's good to have young, strong men around the house, Bella." And then she would wink at me.

Ugh. So was she supposedly having them over every day for my sake? I didn't know anymore.

Grandpa was still being a royal pain in the ass. He called me Isabella all the time, even if it was just to acknowledge my presence. I would call him Peter right back, though - something I knew bugged him more than it bugged kept watching me with these speculative eyes, like he was just waiting for the opportunity to bust me on something. I hadn't done anything, though. There wasn't anything I _could_ possibly do.

I was convinced that I would die of boredom.

I sat quietly in the living room, watching the television with a great amount of confusion. Grandma had shoved an old tape in the VCR and insisted that I watch it with her. The movie was called _Weird Science_, and boy was it crazy. Two nerds somehow brought a doll to life, and she had the hots for the dark-haired one. It didn't make any sense to me, but I was a very logical person - it took a lot of realism in a movie to impress me.

Grandma laughed a lot, something about her that was both sweet and annoying. I barely cracked a smile throughout the whole torturous experience.

"So?" Grandma asked when it was over. "What do you think?"

"I think that that was the stupidest movie I've ever seen."

_Okay, how rude can I get? Did that really just come out of my mouth?_

To my total surprise, she laughed again, throwing her head back and shaking her head a little. "I know hon; I'm trying. I know we aren't the most technical relatives you have, and I'm sorry for that." Her eyes softened as she went on, "I'm just trying to make this visit as fun as I can."

I started fidgeting in my seat. She was getting all heart-warmy, and I wasn't good with that kind of thing. It made me nervous. So I changed the subject, asking, "Why don't you guys buy a new TV? You and Gran - _Peter_, I mean - both had good jobs and made a steady retirement fund. You should have more than enough for things like that."

She shook her head. "Your grandfather is the stubbornest man I've ever known. He doesn't want to upgrade because he feels that if we buy new things, then our house will become a target for thieves." She met my eyes and shrugged. "That's just how the man works, and it's fine with me."

Her voice was very loving when she said the last few words. She truly did love him - and I knew he loved her back. But it was still irritating hearing her talk about him like all he ever does is treat people with love and respect. Obviously, he stopped trying with me, because I hadn't heard him say "I love you" to me since I was in eighth grade. No matter what she said about him, he was still rude and obnoxious.

It was so relieving to know that he had gone out again. I really didn't like having him anywhere near my proximity.

The doorbell rang suddenly, making me jump about ten feet in the air.

Grandma took a deep breath and went to the task of getting to her feet. Watching her struggles was too hard, so I stood up quickly and walked towards the front door, opening it smoothly.

Our visitor was not who I was expecting. I had thought maybe Peter was home, or that Edward and Emmett were back for more chores. But no - it was a girl, close to my height, with long black hair up in a ponytail. Her bright blue eyes widened when she saw me, looking startled.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Um... are you Isabella Swan?"

"Bella," I corrected automatically. "Yeah."

She smiled widely and started bouncing up and down. "Omigosh, this is so great! I'm so happy to finally meet you!" Without warning, she thrust open the screen door separating us and embraced me in a warm hug.

Awkward level: veeeery high.

I was about to ask her what the hell she was doing, but before I could she released me, stepping back out onto the porch. "My brothers have told me so much about you!"

_Shit. By brothers, she has to mean the Cullen guys... so... wait, why is she so happy to see me if Edward has told her all about me? Did he spare her the loathing that we share?_

Once again, she cut me off, suddenly grabbing my wrist with her hand. "C'mon, let's go! I have the whole day planned out for us!"

"What?" I asked incredulously. "What do you mean?"

She looked taken aback, dropping my hand suddenly. "You mean you don't know? Your grandma told me that you would be free today, so-"

"Grandma!" I exploded, sprinting back into the living room. She sat there on the couch, smiling knowingly. That only made my disbelief rise. "You set up a _playdate_ for me? I'm not five years old, you know!"

She rolled her eyes. "Stop being so dramatic. Just go with Alice and have fun."

I felt my hands curling into fists without being aware of commanding them to do so. "My idea of fun is not-"

A booming laugh from behind me caught me off guard, making me spin around on my heels to find the source.

It was Emmett, hands in his pockets, towering over his sister in the doorway. He grinned as I grew more and more confused. "Yo, Bells. Ready to roll?"

This was all getting to be too much. A day out with one girl I could probably handle easily - with Emmett added to the mix, however, there were bound to be many more awkward moments and dirty jokes.

I was speechless. I had truly no idea how to get out of this one.

Alice broke the small moment of silence. "If you're coming, you'd better hurry. Edward gets a little moody when he leaves the car engine running too long."

I couldn't help what I did next. It was totally instinctive to scream as loudly as I could and run up the stairs.

Yeah, right.

----------

I sat in the backseat of the Cullens' blue van, my arms crossed in anger.

No matter how many times I went over it in my head, I found it unfair how easily I'd been forced to come along. I had expected Alice to just walk away after my outburst, Emmett following suit. Instead, Grandma had told them to just take me, and then I was running and Emmett had me over his shoulder, barely breaking a sweat. Alice had laughed at Edward's expression when he saw us emerge from the house, me kicking and thrashing, trying to escape.

After Emmett had easily shoved me in, I had just given up, scowling and buckling my seat belt.

Part of me wondered if I did it on purpose - had acted like a whiny baby to get attention. That was very likely, since I wasn't really angry at all. Somehow, I felt happy that they had brought me, even after I'd acted like a total brat. But I wasn't about to show them that.

"Where are we going, anyway?" I asked Alice, turning my head to look at her next to me.

She cocked her head to the side. "Edward, where are we going first?"

"I thought you had it all planned out," he muttered.

She laughed, smiling over at me. "Do you know the area at all?"

I shook my head. "I haven't been here for a while. I only remember that park a few blocks away from my grandparents' house..."

"We could head to the arcade first," Emmett offered.

"Arcade?"

Edward looked at me in the reflection in the mirror, his eyebrows raising. "You sound like you've never been to one."

I bit my lip and looked out the window.

There was a collective gasp from the two other passengers in the van, and I couldn't help but stick my tongue out at them. Emmett retaliated, putting his thumb to his nose and wiggling his fingers. Alice just stared at me like she couldn't quite believe it.

"So what - I've never been to an arcade - what's the big freaking deal?" I snapped.

"The big deal is," Edward said, "you obviously haven't lived yet."

"You people are so strange," I scoffed.

Emmett turned around in the front seat to look at me accusingly. "What do you mean, 'you people'?"

Alice and Edward burst out laughing. I managed a smirk, but it was hard to find what he said funny when he was still staring at me so seriously. He cracked a smile, though, and laughed himself, turning back around to face the road before us. It went quiet again, which I was happy with, but it wasn't bound to last long.

We finally pulled into a parking lot, which was clustered with several assorted businesses. The lot was crowded as hell, and we drove up and down several rows, not spotting any available slots.

"Oh, over there, Ed!" Emmett frantically started pointing towards the next row, really getting into the motion.

Alice shook her head. "Someones already pulling up to it."

"Oh no, they don't." Edward growled.

And suddenly we were going about eighty, skidding around the corner and shooting into the next row. I screamed, but I wasn't alone - Alice was too, and we were clutching onto eachother and the seats. Edward just went faster, slowing down barely enough to slide easily into the empty spot.

"Holy shit! Are you trying to kill us?" I asked.

He just grinned in the rear-view mirror.

We got out of the car, the other person driving by, giving us a nice view of his middle finger. I was shocked. I wasn't used to Phoenix by a long shot. Sure, Tuscon had finger-flippers, but we did not have this kind of brutal parking space battle. _Then again_, I mused, _there probably aren't any crazy people like Edward there to instigate them_.

Emmett laughed again - something I was beginning to realize he did quite often - and said, "Well, shall we?"

They all started walking up to the strip mall, and I followed hesitantly behind. This would be one of the usual moments when I would put my ear buds in my ears and listen to my music as loud as it would go. My parents would think it was because I was trying to ignore them, to get out of spending time with them when we went out to eat or something. Neither of them bothered to try and find out the truth.

We entered a store that was called, "Crazy Mike's", and the name of the place did nothing to settle my discomfort. I literally gaped when I saw the inside.

There were a few tables and chairs, like any other restaurant, off to one side; the other, however, was dominated by four rows of arcade games, all lined up and beeping. A buffet was set up on the opposite wall, where a few people had lined up to get food. The strangest thing to me was the waiting staff; they were all wearing a bright neon-green alien suit.

"Hey, Em, Ed!" A male voice called out. I turned my head towards it and gaped even wider. There was a guy standing there, his face painted the same color as the rest of the alien suits. A springy antenna protruded from the top of his head, bouncing into his face every few seconds. Obviously fake rubber tentacles were attached to the suit at his waist line. "Glad you guys are here! I haven't seen you in forever, dudes!" He did that weird fist-bump that some guys do. "Take a seat, it's on the house."

"Awesome!" Emmett exclaimed, running over to an open booth. Edward followed after him. The green man didn't give time for Alice and I to join them.

"Ladies, how goes the summer?"

Alice sighed shortly. "Fantastic. Kindly leave me alone."

Her coldness towards him startled me. For me, it would be normal to say something so bluntly like that, but for a bubbly person like Alice, it seemed out-of-character.

"Bella, c'mon," she huffed, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the boys. Emmett smiled apologetically at her, but she just looked away.

"Sorry. I thought he was off duty today."

I stared at Alice in question, which she met with an even look. "That freak over there is my ex. Mike Newton." She shuddered. "I have no idea what I even saw in that idiot!" She threw her hands into the air dramatically, slumping down into the booth.

_Wow, her ex?_ I looked back over at Mike, standing by the entrance, looking sheepish. I wondered what he had done to break them up.

Edward shook his head. "Can we just eat? This drama is already draining me."

"Insensitive turd," Alice muttered, standing up and shoving her brother's shoulder - but she smiled.

We ate at the buffet, even though I wasn't sure Mike's promise that it was _on the house_was very legit. The food was average, at best, but it filled me up. After eating, the four of us walked over to the arcade section. Alice handed me a cup full of quarters, chuckling at my aversity to accepting the few dollars. She skipped off, leaving me in the middle of beeping machines and guffawing teenagers.

I decided that while I was there, I might as well try to play something, so I went up to the first machine I saw and shoved a quarter in.

The screen showed a big maze, with little yellow dots everywhere. At first, I didn't know who I was supposed to be controlling, so I sat there mashing buttons until the yellow guy suddenly folded in on himself, disappearing completely.

A sudden burst of laughter sounded behind me, and I turned around slowly to glare at the all-too-familiar voice.

"Shut your hole, Edward." I hissed.

He grinned unashamedly at me, moving closer. "I knew you were going to suck, but I didn't think it would be this pathetic."

I felt my face get hot. Pathetic? Is that what he saw when he looked at me? Some stupid girl who couldn't even wrap her mind around a simple videogame? An imbecile that couldn't find her place in the world - not even amongst people of her own age?

Well, part of me thought he was right.

"It's my first time playing this game," was my lame excuse.

He raised his eyebrows and looked at the screen. "_Pac-Man?_ You've never played Pac-Man?" He looked back down at me, almost condescendingly. "Seriously, what do you _do_ all day?"

I shrugged, turning back around. "If you're just going to stand there and mock me, then go away." I inserted another coin into the machine, pressing the bright red START button. Once again, I was playing some mindless game that didn't even make sense to me. I looked down at the controls. There was a rod that came out from the middle of the board. I took a hold of it and moved it around, and to my amazement, the brigth yellow guy started moving what ever way I shoved it. I smiled at my discovery.

My excitement dried up after I died within the first thirty seconds.

"You realize you're not supposed to run into those other guys, right?" Edward asked. I jumped - I hadn't realized he was still there.

"Why not?"

"They kill you."

"That's stupid - I'm bigger than they are, so why-?"

"He can only eat them when you get those," he said, his hand coming into my view and pointing at the bigger circles in the corners.

I furrowed my brow. _That doesn't make any sense! Why would it make a difference?_ But I didn't voice my questions. I hoped that if I kept quiet, then Edward would go away and I could attempt to enjoy myself.

After I started another round, I still felt his presence behind me. It was unnerving, having him watch everything I was doing. It made every mistake that much more humiliating.

Fifteen minutes later, Pac-Man shriveled up for about the fiftieth time, and I groaned, smacking my fist against the screen. "You stupid yellow thingy! Stop dying! I'm almost out of quarters, dammit!"

Apparently the arcade was making me go insane.

Edward sighed heavily. "You're embarrassing me."

I twisted my head around to glare at him.

He smiled a little bit. "Here, I'll help you out. Put another quarter in." He said, stepping closer to me - _way too close_ for my own personal comfort.

But I really wanted to get past level one, at least, so I kept my mouth shut and slipped another quarter in. Obviously another reason why I was going insane; never in my right mind would I let Edward Cullen within a two-meter radius of my person.

Edward reached around me, pressing the START button. His other hand came around the other side of me, grasping the rod firmly.

He had me trapped against the machine.

Oh crap. Oh crap! _Oh crap!_

...

Why did part of me like it?

He murmured instructions into my ear as he moved Pac-Man expertly across the screen, informing me on how to best go about collecting the little orbs. I wasn't paying any attention, though. I was too preoccupied with his breath, smelling somehow minty, and how his chest would brush against my back every now and then. I would respond whenever was necessary, grunting and nodding in affirmation. But Pac-Man was the last thing on my mind.

_Wait. Just hold on one damn second. Don't I hate this guy? Isn't he supposed to be some cocky bastard that treated me like dirt the first time we met? Where did that guy go, and when did this gentlemanly Edward show up in his place? Does he have a multiple personality disorder? A twin, maybe?_

He suddenly stopped moving the rod, letting poor Pac-Man die. I furrowed my brow, turning my head to look at him. He was so close, and I could finally see that his eyes were a deep, foresty green. His lips looked moist, opened slightly, his sweet breath fanning across my face. I registered all of this in one second, and in the next I was going to inch away, because I was supposed to hate him and thinking about him like this was not helping me. But I didn't get the chance.

He leaned forward and kissed me full-on the mouth.

* * *

**Confused? Yeah, me too. Edward just does things without the author's consent sometimes.**

**Just a short note... most of the places in my story are going to be made up, since I'm lazy and don't feel like trying to remember every fun place I've ever been to in Phoenix.. except maybe the Phoenix Zoo - I went there a few weeks ago, and it was so much fun!**

**Asta-la-bye-bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the wait! I just didn't have it in me to write for the past two weeks...**

**Anyway, I'm going to say thanks to all of the people who reviewed last time! This will probably be the last time I do this kind of thing, just letting you all know! ;)**

**Thanks to 3Emma, DoubleAgentA, oo2uniq4uoo, xhilaration, VALICECULLENatFORKSHIGH, and last, but most definitely not least, marshie01!!**

**Yayz! Enjoy!**

* * *

Edward P.O.V.

Yeah.

I was kissing Bella-fucking-Swan.

Her lips were soft, I definitely noticed that. I had her up against the Pac-Man machine, kissing her slowly and persuasively, trying to coax her mouth open. It tasted like the pizza she'd had earlier, and it was only with our extremely close proximity that I realized that her lips were actually a pretty good size – not too pouty, not too thin.

But there was just one thing that was seriously pissing me off. Bella kept trying to push me away, or lean backwards, or get out of my arms, but she wasn't doing any of these actions with determination. It was like she knew she should, but part of her was still wanting to stay close to me. That was strange, seeing as how I believed that she hated me. Of course, I wasn't fond of her, either. Not by a long shot. But I had my reasons, and I was trying to make the kiss as enjoyable as I could. And even though she was willing to stay near me, her mouth was closed very tightly, showing that she still wasn't totally okay with everything.

Of course. The one time she decides to keep her mouth shut.

Finally, though, I heard Emmett behind us, cursing very loudly. I grinned, and released Bella, winking at her once before walking away, shoving my hands into my pockets. I kept chanting, _Just let it go, don't ask questions, go back to playing Pac-Man, make this easy for me._

I shouldn't have expected so much.

"What the hell was that?" Bella asked sharply, appearing at my side. "You kiss me and then strut away like nothing happened? What is _with_ you?"

I glared down at her and rolled my eyes, going for the silent approach. Still, she didn't give up.

"You really are a cocky bastard! I was starting to think differently, but-"

"Were you _really_, Bella?" I sneered, halting in the middle of the aisle to stare her down. "For some odd reason, I doubt it. You seem like the type of girl to create a person's personality the instant you see them, and then to keep that impression glued to them forever. So no matter what I do, nothing is going to change. I will forever be known as Edward Cullen, Cocky Bastard. And besides," I laughed now, smirking at her, "it wasn't like you didn't enjoy it."

Her face reddened, and she opened her mouth to say something else, but Emmett suddenly jumped between us, disbelief dominating his expression.

"Excuse me, I need to, uh, talk to my brother," he excused lamely, nearly clotheslining me to drag me away from the blushing girl. Once we were in the bathroom - which was made for only one person, might I add - he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, obviously waiting for an explanation.

"Can we go somewhere else to talk?"

"No, just spill."

I grinned, thinking of the only easy way to say it. "You owe me twenty-five bucks."

Emmett made a hissing noise through his teeth. "I can guess that part! But I thought you were totally against it! You said so yourself! Why did you change your mind?"

I remembered his voice from earlier, the two of us playing some racing game against each other at the far end of the arcade.

"What would you be willing to do for twenty-five bucks?" He had asked, all business.

We hadn't had any recent bets, since summer was probably the most eventful part of the year. It was something we usually did to pass the time and to piss off Alice for kicks or to entertain us in general since there wasn't much to do otherwise. "Anything for money."

"You have to kiss Bella for three minutes straight."

Okay, maybe not anything. Disgusted, I said, "No way!" And got out of the seat, walking away angrily. Emmett came up behind me, though, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Whoa, hey, why not? You have to admit, she's not bad looking."

I shrugged, admitting and denying nothing. "Why would I want to kiss her, though, Em? She's hated me since the instant she saw me, and I don't feel too keen on her, either."

"That's the point, brother dear!" He shook me, laughing loudly. "What else do you think a bet is for?"

I grumbled, intelligible even to myself, and sighed. "But I've never made you do anything so... so..." _Awful. Embarrassing._The words kept supplying themselves in my head, but I found that I couldn't say one of them. There wasn't any word in the English language that could sum up my distaste.

He threw his hands into the air. "Fine! Fine, I don't care! It was just a suggestion for easy money!"

I rolled my eyes and walked away. In the other isle I saw Bella, some strange urge took over and the rest is history.

I ran my hands over my face as I explained this as shortly as I could to Emmett. He was still staring at me strangely, like he wasn't sure what was wrong with me - but then again, I didn't know either. This was driving me crazy. Part of me was telling me, _Duh, it was for money, you dumbass. Just take it and forget about it_. But the other part of me was remembering how nice her mouth felt against mine.

Somebody knocked on the bathroom door and Emmett groaned, his shoulders sagging. "Who is it? We're a little busy in here."

They knocked again.

"Oh, just go away!" I snapped.

And yet another knock, more persistent this time. I groaned and opened the door, putting a glare on. It quickly morphed into a scowl though, since it was Bella, standing with her hands on her hips, bottom lip jutting out in a annoyed manner.

"What do you want?"

"Tell me what that kiss-"

I sighed in frustration, walking out of the bathroom and closing the door, leaving one problem and going to the next. Sometimes that was all my life was, a series of issues that interlinked in a massive web, never leaving me with a spare moment to breathe or relax.

Bella looked up at me, her deep brown eyes alight with suspicion. "So?" She prompted.

"So. I kissed you. It was relatively okay. End of discussion."

She gaped. "_'Relatively okay'_?"

Oh yeah, like her kissing ability was the greatest of her worries. "What did you want me to say, Bella?"

"I don't know, maybe explain why you kissed me without giving me so much as a warning. It was like one second you were being assy, and the next you just _poof_," she did some weird flailing with her hands, "kissed me! It was totally out of nowhere, and weird, and, and..."

I leaned against the wall, figuring I was in for a huge earful.

"And you just-! Urgh! I can't even look at you right now," she grumbled, spinning on her heels and walking away, surprising me to no end. I had assumed that she would chew my ear of for a good hour, at least, but this was intruiging.

The bathroom door opened and Emmett poked his head out, looking thoroughly amused. "This is so worth the twenty-five."

Ignoring him, I pushed off the wall and started back over to the games. When I passed the first row, there was Bella, back to playing Pac-Man, a deep furrow set into her brow. Instead of steadily moving the joystick around, she was ramming it from side to side in a maniacal manner.

I kept going, deciding that it wouldn't be wise to engage a conversation with her when she was acting so scarily.

In the next aisle, I found Alice, and she was playing her favorite challenge - the crane game. Even though I knew she saw me in the mirror at the back of the mechanical bow, she payed me no mind, focusing more on retrieving the plush pink bunny that was her goal. I watched as she pressed the button, the crane lowered, and the claw barely skimmed the ear before lifting back up, empty.

"Damn!" Alice cursed, kicking the poor machine.

I noticed that the girls in the arcade were fare more prone to violence than any of the boys were.

"Having trouble?"

"Not as much as usual."

We stood there staring at the bunny for a second before she suddenly asked, "What's wrong?"

I looked back at my sister, at her worried face, and wondered how she knew something about me was amiss. She always managed to tell, even when I did my best to hide it.

"I kissed Bella."

Alice suddenly went into some kind of seizure, making strange noises and flapping her arms wildly. I just stared at her, hoping she would cut it out so that I could explain.

"B-But! You guys! Hate! What!"

I shook my head, putting my hands in my pockets. "I'm not exactly clear on it, either, and I was the one to initiate it. Emmett bet me, and I... just did it." I shrugged, trying not to be bothered her disbelieving expression. "She was there, so I-"

"Oh my God, Edward, tell me you did not just say 'she was there'! It's like your talking about a prostitude or something! Is that the kind of guy you are now?" I was going to interject, but she waved a finger at me, making me shut my mouth. "Why would you think like that? _'Oh, hey, lookie here, there's a pretty lady standin' over there! I think I'm gonna kiss her just for the hell of it_!'"

"Alice, it's not like that! Jeez!"

"Then what is it like, hmm?"

I didn't answer her because I didn't know.

----------

The drive back to the neighborhood was beyond awkward. I could feel and see Bella's death glare boring holes into the back of my head. Emmett kept looking between the two of us and giving me a thumbs up while waggling his eyebrows. Alice seemed to be the only normal one, as normal as Alice ever is, chattering away in the back seat. No one was answering her, so I had to wonder who exactly she was talking to.

My hand tightened on the steering wheel as I thought more about what had happened.

_I kissed her, shit, shit, I kissed her, I'll never be able to look at her face again._

Thankfully enough, I pulled into our driveway, and sighed. Finally, I would be rid of the demon in the back seat, and I had no plans to see her any time soon.

"Hey, Bella, why don't you ask your grandma if you can stay the night over at my house?"

I'm going to kill Alice.

I got out of the car before I could hear the answer. I wasn't sure I wanted to know. So I unlocked the house and ran up to my bedroom, planning on escaping from everything.

So much for that.

* * *

**I feel like this doesn't sound like Edward, but I'm not too great at writing from the male point of view. Oh, and sorry it's short!**

**Reviews would be much appreciated! :)**

**Asta-la-bye-bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay so, yada yada, I forgot to do the disclaimer last time, damn, yada yada, here's the chappy!**

**Disclaimer: I own neither Twilight nor its characters.**

* * *

Bella P.O.V.

"Welcome home, Bella! Did you have fun?"

I looked at my grandma and shuddered, hoping that would suffice as an answer. I wasn't sure I could come up with a better way to articulate my displeasure.

She raised her eyebrows at me. "Is that a no?"

"What do you think?" I griped, beginning the climb up the stairs.

"Your grandmother was just asking a question, Isabella!" Grandpa called after me, finally back at the house.

"Well, _excuse me_, Peter! I didn't know that I had to be little miss happy every second of my life!" I shouted, and my grandmother stared at me with wide eyes as I breathed heavily, just waiting for another excuse to start chewing Grandpa's ear off. My fists were sweaty, and I was nearly shaking with anxiety.

Grandpa poked his head around the corner and watched me with a raised eyebrow. "Did something happen with the Cullens?"

I gritted my teeth together so hard they could have chipped. "Of course something happened. Why would I act like this otherwise?"

Grandpa looked like he wanted to say something, but he smartly held his tongue. I think he realized that I was seriously upset, and for once I was grateful for his sharp intuition.

I turned on my heel and shot up the stairs, taking them two at a time, tripping and banging my shin against several steps before finally managing to reach the top. I ran to the guest room and had to restrain every bone in my body to keep me from slamming it shut.

I sighed as soon as I was inside, sinking down to the floor. I looked up at the blank ceiling, thinking about Alice's insistent that we have a slumber party or something. I had declined and ran to my grandparents' house, desperate to get away from the Cullens.

Oh God, the Cullens.

Edward.

Kiss.

Fuck.

Gaaaaah.

I hit my head against the door, shutting my eyes tightly. I saw his face in my mind, though, and quickly opened them again, sighing.

At the time, I'd been a little excited. I mean, I was getting kissed by a_ really_ cute guy. But then, he was Edward Cullen, Cocky Bastard, and the reality came crashing down on me as soon as he pulled away. It was ridiculous. And he wouldn't even tell me his reasons. He and Emmett had gone into the bathroom together - okay, don't even want to think about that - and I listened to their murmurs until I finally couldn't stand it.

I pulled at my hair, letting out a low cry from my throat. His responses were still fresh in my head, and they were pissing me off worse the more I thought about them. His easygoing nonchalance about it all... I bet he kissed any girl he could get within an eight-inch radius of.

All of his expressions and movements kept aggravating me further as I recalled more, and soon I was screaming inside my head: _Stupid Cullen, with your hair, your eyes, your stupid face, damn freaking bronze hair, and those long legs, lean build, soft lips..._

"God dammit!" I yelled, kicking the leg of the bed. It hurt like hell, but it was a slight distraction from the curse that had been cast on me.

There was a light knock on the door. "Bella, are you alright?"

Grandma. I sighed at the concern in her voice and replied, "Yeah. I'm just tired. I think I'm going to bed early."

"It's only three in the afternoon, dear."

"I know."

She was silent for a minute before telling me to sleep well, and then I heard the light footfalls as she walked away. I sighed again - I felt like I was doing that a lot lately - and crawled over to the bed, climbing under with all of my clothes on. I was too exhausted to undress, or even turn off the light. I closed my eyes and somehow managed to drift off to sleep, even with the sun still streaming gently through the curtains.

----------

I woke with a start, feeling a disturbing movement from my pocket. In my groggy state, I somehow figured out that it was my cell, vibrating. I brought it to my face and flipped it open, seeing that I was getting a phone call.

"Hello?" I mumbled.

"Bells? Did I wake you up?"

Suddenly I bolted upright, recognizing the one voice I had probably needed to hear for a while. I smiled, something he could always get out of me, and I said, "Jasper."

"Hey, how're you doing in purgatory?"

I groaned, falling back onto the bed. The back of my head whacked the headboard, though, and I spat out muffled curses that even I couldn't understand.

"_Okay._Sounds fun so far," he commented in that lazy drawl he had. I could almost see his lanky form sprawled out on his camouflage bean bag chair, drinking his always-present Mountain Dew and watching cartoons. He was so childish, and that was one of the things that drew him to me the most. He brought out a side of me I'd never known existed before we'd met.

"Yeah, it's just lovely. My grandfather thinks I'm some kind of spoiled brat, my grandma is so nice that it hurts my feelings on a daily basis, and the fucking neighbors are-!" I couldn't even finish my sentence. Thinking of Edward so shortly after waking up was making my blood boil.

Jasper clacked his tongue. "Ooh, I know that tone. There's a guy, isn't there?"

It amazed me how perceptive he was. "Well... maybe..."

He laughed. "I knew it! And he's, what, some kind of asshole? A total cocky bastard?"

"Exactly!" I nearly shouted.

"And you still like him, though, right?"

I froze, my mouth gaping open in horror. I was so speechless, yet Jazz didn't seem to notice. He kept on talking, saying how I was always a sucker for the bad boy. I swallowed the bile down that had risen to my throat and gritted my teeth together. "No, I _do not_ like him. I can't believe you even said that! Just the _notion _of it is disgusting, Jasper Whitlock!"

"Uh-oh. You used my whole name. Not a good sign. Don't kill me."

I rolled my eyes and ran a hand through my hair, wincing when it caught on several knots. "Just... it doesn't matter."

His silence showed that he didn't believe me.

"Seriously, it doesn't. I don't plan on seeing him anytime soon, anyway. Never, if I can manage it."

"I really am sorry, Bells. I wish that... well, forget it. Sorry I called so late. I probably should let you sleep."

"No! No, please don't hang up. I've missed you so much," I nearly pleaded, holding my breath for his response.

"Well... alright. But you'd better cheer up! Tell me something funny!"

And just like that, we were back to normal, joking and laughing about subjects that a normal person would recoil in shock at. When I told him I had actually played a videogame, he nearly choked on his soda. But it was nothing compared to the response I gave when he told me he had tried to hitchhike up to Phoenix.

"What? Why?"

"Because I needed to try and see you. My mom caught me, though. She had checked on me, and wasn't amused by the pillow dummy I'd made. I thought it was pretty clever, too. He had my hair and everything. I just duct taped my mom's mop to a few pillows and shoved him under my blankets. I even gave him a smiley face."

Ignoring my urge to laugh at that last part, I scolded, "You don't need to worry about me. I'm fine. I'll stick it out. If you think about it, my dad could have come up with worse than sending me away for a few months. You got off lucky, too, just being grounded for a few weeks."

We sat there in silence, both of us probably thinking back to the night that had turned my summer to hell. I quickly shook my head, banishing the poisonous thoughts from my mind.

"But even if you say that, I still miss you. Tyler tried to help me sneak out earlier, so we could hang out at his place, but his idea of doing that was creating a distraction and leaving a ransom note."

My eyes widened, and before I could ask if they actually went through with it, he continued, "Oh, and yes, he really tried his strategy. He chucked a fucking brick through our living room window with a note attached to it and oh-so-brilliantly yelled, 'Run, Jasper!' My step-dad almost had a heart attack, and my mom says I'll be grounded for life if I don't, 'cut it out with the schenanigans.'"

I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle my laugh, but he heard it anyway. "Oh, shut up. It's not funny."

"Yes it is," I retorted, grinning wildly as I shook with my silent laughter. He sighed on the other end of the phone, but I could almost hear him smiling. I caught my breath and turned on the bedside lamp, looking around the room absentmindedly as I collected some of my thoughts. I recalled how pissed off I had been earlier when Edward had kissed me, and something in my brain finally clicked. I smiled and asked, "Hey, Jazzy, baby, do you know what would make me really _happy_?"

"What do you want now?"

"It's not anything big."

He was cautiously silent.

"Will you go out with me?"

Okay, I actually heard him spew his soda, then cough violently, and then some strange pounding noises started up, which I guessed was either him trying to breathe again by hitting his chest, or he was banging his head against the wall. I figured the wall sounded like a better explanation. It took a long time for him to speak again, and when he did, I was waiting with pursed lips.

"A-Are you serious?"

I smiled, looking down at my feet, kicking the blanket a little and watching as it slowly fell back down. "Sorta."

"What does that mean?" He asked desperately.

"It means that I need you as an excuse."

He was still frantic, which I would have taken to offense in any normal situation. "B-But why? For that dude you told me about? Bells, don't worry about him, alright? Just ignore him, and he'll go away. He will never matter to you in your life, so you shouldn't waste your youth trying to prove something to him!"

"Okay, I'll listen to your advice, babycakes."

"You did not just call me babycakes."

I grinned. "Oh, but I did. And the nicknames will get much worse, my little blueberry tart."

He groaned. "Bells, what would having a long-distance relationship with me have to do with that guy? And more importantly, why would he care?"

"He'll care, alright. Because you're going tell him that if he comes near me again, you're going to rip him in half and feed him to rabid dogs."

"How am I going to tell him? I've tried sneaking out already!"

"Just try _harder_!"

He groaned. "Jesus-effin'-Christ, you're making me go prematurely gray! Okay, okay, fine, I'll try, but if I get caught again and my grounding is lengthened, I'm never gonna let you live it down!"

----------

It was three days after my phone call with Jazz that I realized something.

Alice Cullen was stalking me.

It was subtle, like a python slithering through ferns to strike down a baby swallow. I would go outside to sit on the porch and stare at the sky, and she would suddenly appear out of nowhere, inviting herself to join me and nearly causing me to go deaf with all of her nonsensical blabbering. Other times, she would just ring the doorbell fifty million times, and I would have to pretend I was sleeping to keep Grandma from dragging me outside herself.

Eventually, she caught on to my ruse, though I tried to keep up with it anyway. The slight prick of guilt I felt from her was nothing compared to the gaping hole that my grandma seemed to carve deeper and deeper everyday, so she was easy to ignore.

But one morning, I was caught.

I was sitting down to breakfast, eating a simple bowl of cereal rather than the plump waffles Grandma had made. I was going to get fat, the way she kept stuffing me with all sorts of baked goods that I craved but didn't need. My self-control was just starting to reach its limit as I stared at a huge waffle - dripping with butter and syrup - when the doorbell rang.

In my waffle-enamored state, I didn't think to run up to the guest room, and so when Alice bounded in upon invitation from my grandma, I nearly choked on my cereal.

"Hi, Bella!" She chirped, smiling so big it almost took up her whole face. She had finally trapped me, and she was fully aware of it. "Do you want to hang out with me today?"

I scowled, pushing a grain of my cereal around in my bowl, contemplating my options.

"And don't worry, it's just me this time. Edward and Emmett are too busy playing videogames at home to come play with us."

I looked up at her, and couldn't help but feel a glint of appreciation. She had said the exact words that would have made me feel willing to go, and so I shrugged slightly and said, "Okay. I don't have anything else to do, anyway."

She squealed loudly, bouncing up and down, her long hair flowing around her in a whirlwind of black. "Great! Yay, yay, yay! We're going to have so much fun!" She suddenly froze and clapped her hands together. "We can go to the hair salon together! My stylist is the best in the whole galaxy!"

I fingered a strand of my droopy brown hair. "I could use some help," I muttered to myself.

When she winked, it occured to me that her suggestion to go to a salon may havn been due to my hair. I refrained the urge to smack her, and wiped my face with a napkin. "Can you give me a minute to get ready?"

"Of course! Just don't take too long!" And she skipped away, into the living room.

It was hard for me to believe that after all of her stalking, she would have a problem with waiting a few more minutes for me.

After putting my dishes in the sink, I went upstairs and got the usual cell phone and tennis shoes. When I walked back down, Alice was still waiting, nearly vibrating in her seat she was so happy. She ran up to me, and we walked to the front door together, her chatting away about some random topic.

Grandma suddenly appeared at my side and shoved a wad of bills into my hand just as I reached the doorway. Before I could protest, she said, "Take it, Bella. Have fun getting your hair done."

With the look she was giving me, how could I refuse?

"You're going to love Rose," Alice gushed, situating herself in the drivers' side of the car I recognized from the other day. "She is a _genius_."

"Oh, I'm sure," I muttered, buckling my seat belt and staring out the window.

The ride to the salon wasn't as painful as I had originally expected. Alice talked less because, as she claimed, she wasn't good at multitasking. I took this as a blessing and spent the fifteen or so minutes thinking of styles that would be appropriate for me. I couldn't pull off cutesy stuff, like pigtails and short cuts, but I looked alright with my hair curled. Otherwise, I left it as it naturally was - straight and shoulder-length.

We pulled into a crowded parking lot and Alice luckily found a empty space, though it was a ways from the salon. I got out of the car, and squinted against the sun having to shield my eyes. The salon was apart of a strip mall, like many stores, and was called, Cool Cuts. It looked like any other hair place I'd ever been to, but Alice kept talking about it like it was Mount Olympus or something.

"Come on!" Alice grabbed my arm and towed me forward. I somehow managed to keep up with her despite the fact that her grip continued to cause me to trip over my own feet. When we finally got to the door and she opened it, a loud noise ripped through my ears.

It was Alice, I realized, as she let me go and ran forward to another squealing woman. She was tall, with long, blonde hair that reached her elbows and large, hazel eyes. I had just taken a step back to distance myself from the two squealing women when the amazon caught sight of me and raised one eyebrow.

"Who's the girl?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips and sizing me up with her eyes. I somehow managed not to wriggle under her scrutiny.

Alice came over to me and put an arm around my shoulder, smiling. "This is Bella, my new friend. She's here visiting for the summer." She looked to me and motioned to the hazel-eyed woman. "And Bella, this is my stylist, Rosalie. She's the one I was telling you about."

"You mean the _genius_?"

Obviously neither of them heard the sarcasm in my voice, since they both nodded in agreement.

Rosalie cocked her head to the side slightly, furrowing her brow at me. "You brought me a challenge this time, Alli."

I gaped, because I assumed she was talking about me.

Before I could make an equally rude remark, she walked over, her black high heels clacking sharply against the tile, and grabbed my arm. "Come on. You need help. Now." She walked so quickly to the salon chairs that I had to speed up my pace to keep up with her. She shoved me down into a chair, swiftly covering me with a tarp. I blinked as she instantly got to work, turning me around and reclining me, so that my head was in a bowl. I shut my eyes as she instructed, pouring a cold, goopy liquid onto my hair. She lathered gently, and I sighed, relaxing into her hands.

I could hear her talking to someone. I knew it wasn't me, because someone else was replying back. I guessed that it was Alice, though it was difficult to say with the rushing water filling my ears.

When Rosalie was done with washing my hair, she smiled down at me and clamped a towel onto my face. "Dab at your hair with that, hon. I'm going to go consult your style with Alli."

I heard her clack away, and then I did as I was instructed, softly running the towel through my smooth hair. I was surprised she had actually untangled it without any unnecessary tugging and ripping. I sat up, wrapping my whole head in the towel, and looked around the salon. Alice and Rosalie were over in the corner, bent over some fashion magazine, talking with completely business-like expressions on their face. Around them, there was a flurry of activity. People walking in, asking for reservations, walking out, kids waiting for their mothers to finish. I hadn't realized that there were so many people inside.

Rosalie suddenly snapped her head to look up and me, then back to the magazine, and then back again. Alice was staring at me like she couldn't believe something.

I quirked an eyebrow at them and mouthed, _What?_

They practically ran over to me, Rosalie shoving the magazine into my face. My eyes widened as I stared at the woman on the page, sporting a beautiful hair style that looked like it was formed by the hands of the hair gods.

_Okay, mental head slap. Did I really just think that? Alice's girliness has got to be contagious or something._

Alice clapped her hands together excitedly, watching my reaction. "This is what Rose is going to do for your hair!"

"No way."

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, what's wrong with you? This is the perfect cut for you, I just know it. It _screams_ your name."

I stared at the picture some more, but I still didn't see what she was talking about.

She sighed, rolling up the magazine and placing it on a nearby table. "I'm doing it whether you like it or not, so just get used to the idea, okay?"

And once again she spun me around, grabbing a pair of scissors and grinning deviously. I blinked.

"Now just hold still, dear, this will only take a minute."

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**:D I know_ I_ like this chapter, but let me know what you think!**

**Asta-la-bye-bye!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Oh. My. Gosh. I am HORRIBLE.**

**I'm sorry, but... real life caught up with me in a bad way :( **

**Enjoy the chapter, though! :) I am sorry it took so long - I have the same frustration with other stories on this site. **

**Disclaimer: TWILIGHT ISN'T MINE.**

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Bella P.O.V.

My eyes widened as the scissors got severely close to my scalp, poised almost like she was going to plunge it into my brain. Suddenly, I didn't want her to cut my hair; I didn't even want to be anywhere close to this stupid place. Anger rolled within me like a thunderstorm, and before I could voice my realizations, Rosalie lifted a lock of my hair.

_Snip_.

Something deep within me snapped, and I smacked the scissors out of Rosalie's hand, sending them onto the floor and skidding across the room. I stared at the long cut across the back of my hand, and felt an odd sense of giddiness at my defiance.

Vaguely, I wondered if I was going crazy.

Neither Rosalie nor Alice moved, not even blinking. My sudden outburst had obviously surprised them. Luckily for me, no one else in the salon had noticed anything was going on between us; that would only make things even more complicated.

"Bella, what-?"

I ripped the tarp covering me with my left hand, and threw it to the ground. "You know, if I had wanted to be treated like a moronic child, I would have stayed with my parents!"

Rosalie seemed too shocked to speak for a minute, but then her nostrils flared and she stood up straighter. She reminded me of a bull about to charge, stamping the dirt, rearing back on its hind legs, just waiting for the perfect moment to run. "Who do you think you are, exactly? Alice and I were trying to do something nice for you; you have no reason to try and make it seem like a bad thing." She retorted.

"It_ is_ a bad thing!" I shouted, forgetting where I was. "If I don't ask for a haircut, then don't try to give me a damn haircut!" People started to look at us.

Then, Alice interjected, "Bella, you're being unfair! You even said you wanted to come, and now you're acting like an idiot!"

It was my turn for my nostrils to flare. "Really? If I'm such an idiot, then why would you bring me here?"

"Because you seemed _lonely_! All you ever do is sit around and mope all day!"

Ouch. While that was kind of true, I had a perfectly good reason for my moping around. But like that was any of her business. "Whatever, Alice. I'm out of here."

And with as much dignity as I could muster, my hair dripping wet, my hand still bleeding, I marched out of the hair salon. Alice didn't try to follow me. I preferred it that way.

I felt like my dignity had been ripped away from me and shattered to pieces. _Lonely_, _yeah right_, I thought. I couldn't believe I was being looked down upon, especially by Alice Cullen, of all people.

A wave of heat hit my face as soon as I stepped outside, and it was a relief compared to the icy temperatures of the salon. I gritted my teeth together as I stormed onto the asphalt, heading towards the street. I would walk back to my grandparents' house.

A sudden idea slammed me so hard that I actually stopped walking.

_Why should I go back to their house?_

I suddenly grinned, and started walking in the opposite direction of the neighborhood. I felt free, like I'd been confined in a cage and someone had opened the door. It was ironic that Alice had helped me, simply because it felt like my grandma used her as a babysitter sometimes. I smiled wider, and a middle-aged man walking along the sidewalk gave me a funny look. But I didn't care.

_Free._

Edward P.O.V.

I was all alone in the house, for once. It was great. Nobody to break the unwavering silence that fell around me, almost solid in its uninterrupted state. I smiled as I stared at the ceiling, my hands clasped behind my head, my legs stretched out in front of me.

Some people would probably be surprised that I hated noise. Absolutely despised it. The only one who knew about it and tried to respect it was Alice, but she mostly respected everyone.

Thinking about that brought Bella to my mind like a sudden, irritating itch, and I groaned, turning on the TV. Anything to distract me from thoughts of the bratty girl. The first thing that came on was wrestling, though, so I quickly changed it until I found a football game. Anything was better than watching muscly guys grope eachother in a cage.

Then, the phone rang, which I welcomed more than I realized. I didn't even look at the caller ID before answering. "Hello?"

"EDWARD! I LOST BELLA! I CAN'T FIND HER! I BROUGHT HER TO THE HAIR SALON AND SHE JUST TOOK OFF, AND I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT STOPPING HER UNTIL JUST A SECOND AGO, AND NOW I CAN'T FIND HER, OH SHIT, OH GOD, EDWARD, YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!"

I only caught the first and last part of the rant because Alice had startled me enough with her yelling that I dropped the phone. "Wow. Okay. Um, good luck with that." I said, planning on hanging up.

"EDWARD!"

I sighed. "What do you want me to do, Alice? She's old enough to take care of herself, right?"

"Mrs. Swan said that she's here because she got in trouble with her parents, though! What if she runs away, and they'll blame it on me, and probably I'll never be trusted by anyone again; I'll just be known as the girl who lost Bella Swan, and she'll show up on some milk carton; they'll probably find her naked, face-down in a ditch or something! And then what am I supposed to do! Will that kind of thing show up on my permanent rec-?"

"Breathe, Alice!"

She gasped, and sheepishly muttered, "Sorry. I'm just worried about her."

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed again. What do you tell your physchotic sister when she's about ready to explode from guilt?

I got up and grabbed my car keys. "You owe me. _Big time_."

"Oh, yay! Thanks, Ed! I'll buy you some of that girly hair gel you like."

"It's not girly!" I protested, hanging up. But really, it wasn't. Really.

Outside, the air was grossly hot. Sweat beaded on my forehead instantly. Why would she choose today to bolt? I thought about Bella. She usually wore dark-colored clothes, so it would almost be like asking for a stroke to run away. I felt a slight pang of worry, but pushed it away. I wasn't going to let myself feel for the childish brat. I was simply helping Alice out.

As soon as I got in my car, I rolled down the windows to let some of the pent-up heat escape. I started backing up out of my driveway, and then heard one word, loud and chilling and startling.

"OW!"

I hit the brake, but whoever I'd hit was already on the ground. My blood ran cold. Shit, shit, shit. My mom always told me I was too careless when I was driving. I was finally seeing what she meant.

Getting out of the car, I rushed to the back of my car where a guy, looking to be my age, laid on his back, staring up at me with a weird look on his face. He had longish blonde hair that fell in scraggly wisps down his face, bright blue eyes wide. I looked him up and down, but nothing seemed visibly wrong with him, other than the fact that his clothes looked ragged and disgustingly dirty.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He stared.

_Shit. Unresponsive. What if he has a concussion?_

"You okay?" I kneeled down and held my hand out to him. I felt relief flood through me as he took it and his grasp was tight; he was shaking, though.

Once he was standing up, he looked around him, at the culdesac, a quizzical look on his face. He glanced at the back of my car. Then at me. Car again. Back to me.

"You hit me!" His voice was deep, but the words made him seem like a kid.

I was speechless.

"I can't believe you actually hit me!" He looked at the car again. "What if you hadn't heard me? And you had just kept going?" He looked back to me, glaring this time. "You asshole!"

I was trying not to laugh. Seriously. This guy almost got run over by my car, and he was fine and yelling at me after a few seconds? I snorted, and he looked offended.

"I could sue you, you know!"

Oh crap. The last thing I need is to have my parents find out that I'm having a law suit filed against me. Not good. "Look, man, I'm sorry. Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm okay. My internal organs might be bleeding, though," he said sarcastically.

"Seriously, man," I began, "I just hit you with my car. Is there anything I can do for you?" I was amazed that he didn't seem to be pushing the charges, but he looked young and forgiving. I felt really bad, anyway, and I was never, ever going to drive without watching where the hell I was going again. I have to learn things the hard way.

He looked contemplative, scratching his chin. "I do need directions. I'm looking for this girl, Isabella Swan."

Holy fucking shit.

"Isabella Swan?" I asked for clarification. Just to make sure.

"Yeah, she came here to be with her grandparents. I was sure it was this neighborhood, but maybe I -"

I started laughing, leaning against my car, throwing my head back. I was exaggerating just a little, but not really. This was too weird to actually be happening. I was laughing at the weirdness of it all. The guy was looking at me like I was crazy, but I could care less. That would hopefully scare him off of his lawsuit threat.

"God, please tell me you're here to take her away," I finally replied, choking back my laughter.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why? Is she bugging you?"

"I wouldn't say 'bugging.' I would say 'irritating the fuck out of.'"

He grinned slightly. "Good old Bells. I miss her. Where is she?"

He missed her? She had friends? No, wait - he looked like more than a friend. I had no time to think about it though, because he moved his hands like I was supposed to answer.

"Oh, yeah," I murmured. "We can't really find her."

"Tell me you didn't just say that."

He looked shocked. I hated telling him this.

"She took off while she was supposed to be hanging out with my sister. I was just about to go out and look for her when I kinda hit you."

His face suddenly grim, he said, "Take me with you. Please." He added the polite term almost grudgingly.

Let's get one thing straight here. I barely knew this guy. I almost flattened him like a pancake with my car. And then he just wants to hop in my car and drive off with me? Either he was crazy or I was crazy, but it was probably a mixture of both. Because then I said, "Okay," and we drove off, beginning our search for Bella.

Bella P.O.V. 

Hot. Why is Phoenix so fucking hot? I thought this over and over, throwing it around in my head. But I had wanted this, so I tried to quit bitching.

I'd been walking around for at least an hour and a half. I was bored, frankly. There was nothing to do. A few guys had approached me and tried to offer me drugs, but I declined as quickly as I could and slipped away before they could try anything funny. Drugs definitely weren't my thing. I'd tried some weed once, with Jasper, but I didn't like it. He kinda enjoyed it, but with one disapproving glance from me, he scrapped the idea.

I was walking along some random street, and cars were beeping and scooting inch by inch across the asphalt. Traffic in Arizona gets ridiculous sometimes. I glanced over people in their cars, seeing some alone, and others with pets in the front seat. One certain blue van had three guys squished into the front seat, staring me down. I quickly averted my eyes and walked a little faster.

Finally, I found a small park, and sat down on the faded blue bench facing the monkey bars. Three little kids were climbing all over it, hanging upside down in places that kids weren't even supposed to be able to reach. I didn't see any people that could possibly be their parents; just two guys my age making out in a corner, not very well hidden behind a tree. Holy cow. Were they even breathing?

This, I decided, was the best part of this whole thing. Feeling free again, sitting at some random park in a city I wasn't familiar with. Later, I would probably be a little panicky. But then I'm not the kind of person to regret my desicions, so I shrugged to myself and watched some birds fly overhead.

That's when I heard someone calling my name.

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**Phew. I hope it was long enough. I'll try to update more often, but I can't make any concrete promises :)**

**Asta-la-bye-bye!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Whoot! Chapter Seven! :D Huzzah! I had a flood of inspiration for this, so I had to write it out, before I lost the mood.**

**Disclaimer: TWILIGHT ISN'T MINE.**

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Bella P.O.V.

I turned warily to look over my shoulder, but no one was there, not that I could see, anyway. Just a busy street, cars passing in blurs of white and blue and black. I turned back to the playground. The kids, two girls and one boy, wereplaying tag. I could hear the girls' giggling bouncing around the area, and smiled unconsciously. It might be weird, but I love kids. They're so innocent, compared to the harsh adults around me. Truthfully, there were times when I wished to go back to that stage in my life, where the only things that mattered were my favorite color and what presents I got for Christmas. But then I would remember what I really am and that I can't escape to the past.

I am who I am. Or something corny like that.

The two gay guys had taken notice of me, and it looked like they were offended, because I had been glancing at them a few times. It was their own fault, really. If they were going to make out in a public venue, then they should have picked someplace a little less obvious for their hiding spot. I watched them walk away from the park, holding hands.

After what felt like an hour, a woman came walking down the sidewalk winding around the playground. She was pushing a light blue stroller, and I caught a glimpse of a small, gurgling baby as she passed. The three kids on the monkey bars all crowded around her, and they walked around the bend and into a nearby neighborhood. Once they were out of sight, I was alone.

Finally. I sighed and let my body slump, resting my head on the top of the bench. I closed my eyes, breathing in everything: the oily smell of car exhaust, the acidic smell of the humid air, and the very faint scent of actual nature. Arizona didn't have very much greenery around, and whenever trees were planted on the side of the streets it looked fake and unwelcomed.

I peeled my eyes open. I had to figure out what I was going to do. My hair was slightly ratty, since it had dried without a brush. The cut on my hand hurt, but it had stopped bleeding before I'd even gotten to the park. I'd watched my blood, as it pooled up around the wound, slightly intrigued by it. It had been a really deep red tone, but then it had crusted over, and it was scabby-looking and almost brown.

So where was I going to go?

I patted the spot where my cell phone was resting comfortably in my pocket. Sadly, it had no charge. Maybe then I could have called Jasper, a cab, _anyone_ but my family. I was also slightly bored, again. The park, without people flocking around it, was boring.

I looked up at the sky, pretending like I could possibly tell time from the position of the sun in the sky. I guessed that it couldn't be past three, at least, and went back to thinking of ways to amuse myself.

Then I had to cringe.

"Bella!" A faint voice cried. It was closer than the last time I'd heard it. _Which was a really long time ago_, I thought. But I had no time to ponder it because then I saw it - the familiar sleek car of Edward Cullen, Cocky Bastard, rounding the corner of the small park's parking lot. I had no time to think about it.

I took off running.

Now, really, what else could I have one? I was not going back to that dusty old house with those dusty old people guilt tripping and punishing me like I did something wrong. _I will not go back, dammit, _was my mind's mantra, and I held onto it like a prayer_. _

As fast as I could go, I ran into the nearby neighborhood I'd seen the kids and their mom walk into, cutting across a sloping hill covered with gravel, just to ensure that he couldn't follow me with his car. I dashed into an alleyway, passed a couple of pre-teens smoking, and ran through the winding streets, hoping maybe I could confuse him. I had no experience in evading capture, though. I felt like a prisoner caught in the light of a warden's flashlight, discovered trying to escape.

Through the stitch in my side and my heavy breathing, I managed to see a chain-link fence; there was grass on the other side, suggesting maybe another park or something like that. I tried to urge myself faster, and forced myself not to look back as I attempted to climb it.

I failed my first try. I slipped and fell back, landing on gravel. _Ow_. The sharp pieces of rock pierced me like tiny, sharp daggers, but I made myself get up and try again. This time, I got over without too much difficulty, except for the landing, which hurt worse than falling off.

I got up again. Before me was a retention basin, like a large valley stretching far until a street cut across it. I decided that the street would be my next goal, and once I got there I would find another place to shoot for. I almost thought about just sitting down and giving up, though. My legs were shaking from fatigue, and the stitch in my side was extremely painful.

But something inside me was burning; I didn't know what it was, but it licked at my gut and heart, enflaming them, and I had a new found strength in me to keep going.

I ran through the basin, trying to pick my path before I took it, just to stay one step ahead. I still hadn't checked behind me to see if Edward was following me, and I almost didn't want to know. But I had to find out, and I looked unsteadily behind me.

There he was. He had just made it over the fence, jumping down and landing ungracefully on his knees. He got up fast, though, and looked at me, running towards me. He was all bronze hair and long legs taking incredibly fast strides. He was gaining on me, dammit. I felt desperation leak into my mind, as I realized I wouldn't make it to the street. I had to choose a different way.

Looking around frantically, I spotted, in the corner of the basin, the drainage pipe that would flood it with rainwater when spring came around. Long, iron bars were set across it vertically. I was close to it enough to it that I could see that one of the bars was bent slightly, and there was a small hope within me that I could squeeze through. I had to. This was no longer about escaping. It was about proving to Edward, to my family, the lengths that I would go to to assert my freedom from them.

I finally reached the pipe. I turned sideways and jammed myself through the bars, clenching my teeth against the pain as I found trouble with my lower body. Edward was almost to me, his face a mask of complete disbelief that would have been comical if I wasn't having some painful difficulties fitting through.

_Fuck, let me through, dammit!_

It seemed to be just when he got within a foot of me that I finally popped through, rolling away from the opening with all the momentum I'd built up.

I slumped to the hard ground with relief. I'd done it. Shown my determination. Or something. I was too tired at that moment to actually consider anything else but the fact that I wasn't running anymore.

Lifting my head, I saw Edward, leaning against the bars, panting slightly, each of his hands grasping an iron rod. His head was lifted, but because of the bright sunlight glaring into the pipe, all I could see was his outline.

"Fine," he muttered quietly. "Game on."

Suddenly he turned sideways, and started shoving at the bars, grunting as his arm went through, though not without some coaxing on his part. I gaped at him and he continued to push, somehow getting part of his torso through. He managed to maneuver his head through, but then all his progress stopped. Neither of us said a word as he huffed, angry, and tried to pry himself back out. He didn't budge an inch.

"Fuck." He said.

I laughed then, a full, hardy one, even though the pipe smelled like rotten eggs and cobwebs and I was tired and my cut had opened again. Even though the guy who I considered a completely cocky bastard was stuck in the bars three feet away from me, glaring daggers at me. Even though I was going to get dragged back to my grandparents' house.

Even though I felt like crying.

I stopped laughing, and smiled up at Edward, who didn't look very happy.

"I'm going to kill you," he grumbled.

I shrugged. "Better you thank my grandpa." I was shocked at how hoarse my voice was.

He didn't have a response for that, and kept trying to free himself.

Behind him, I heard light footsteps, and I was suddenly wary of who was coming. Alice? Emmett? My grandparents?

"Shit, Bells, are you crazy or what?"

No fucking way. "Jasper!" I cried, running to the bars. Edward looked annoyed at me so easily ignoring his presence, but I did. And there Jasper was, standing with his hands in his pockets. He looked dirty, like he hadn't showered for a few days, and his clothes were in just as bad shape, if not worse.

_How is he here?_

"Ed, why'd you get yourself stuck like that?" He laughed, smacking Edward's shoulder with his hand.

"Jasper, help me get outta here!"

My blood suddenly ran cold, and I found myself stumbling away from the opening. Neither of them noticed me as Jasper tried to help pry him from between the bars.

_How do they know eachother? Why? No, no, no, no!_ I slumped back to the ground, ignoring the stray shards of glass that were pricking at my legs. This wasn't right. I'd asked for Jasper's help to get Edward off my back, and instead he was helping aid him with my capture.

_Why?_

Edward P.O.V.

Damn Bella Swan. Damn her to the pits of a fiery hell.

I stared at her, resting inside the conrete pipe, seeming like she was at complete ease. She hadn't looked at me for around ten minutes.

My neck and shoulder hurt like hell, stuck between the bars. Okay, so maybe trying to go in after her was a little stupid. But it's not like she's super skinny, so I figured I could fit through as well. And plus, I wanted to see the look on her face when I had squeezed through. But instead I was embarrassed and absolutely stuck.

Jasper, as I had learned his name during the few hours driving around, was pulling harshly on my other arm. But he was no help because he was laughing too hard to really get me out.

"Come on, man," I muttered.

"I'm trying. Look, this will be a lot easier if we just call the fire department."

I saw the humilition that would come with that. Probably some news station would want to catch footage of this. It's not every day a teenager makes an ass out of himself in view of the general public. I didn't want to think about going back to school with something like that hanging over my head. "Nuh-uh. Call my brother instead." Emmett was going to laugh his ass off, but he wouldn't tell anyone if I asked him not to. "Here," with my free hand, I dug my phone out of my pocket and tried to hand it to him.

But Bella's arm suddenly shot through the bars, and snatched my cell from me. Before I could stop her, she had scuttled away, into the depths of the pipe, her face defiant. It was the same expression she'd had when she was shoving herself through the bars.

"Bella, give me my fucking phone." I hissed.

She shook her head.

Jasper looked around me, at his supposed friend. She had seemed really happy to see him, had practically screamed his name in my ear. But that was all she said before retreating back into the pipe.

"Bells, come on. This is dumb." He said.

She pursed her lips, avoided his eyes. She still wasn't saying anything. I wondered, for just a second, what the hell went on in her crazy girl head.

Jasper sighed. "Hey, come here. I missed you."

Bella squinted her eyes, like I've seen my mom do when she's trying not to cry. But I didn't think it was possible for Bella to feel emotions. I felt a little bit of what felt like sympathy, but I shoved it away. It was harder to get rid of than the worrying.

I remembered her in the arcade, the way she'd looked so full of an attitude with her hands on her hips, lips set into a scowl. I had hated her then. Now she looked small, cornered like a hunted animal. Her hair was frizzy, tangled. Her eyes looked tired.

I found it hard to hate her in that moment.

"Bells," Jasper said again, gently. I suddenly envied him for his patience. If it were me, I would be yelling at her by now.

She stood up slowly, her legs shaking. She was probably tired, with all of the running she did.

And amazingly, she slowly placed my cell in his hand. Then she

He called Emmett, and then both of them were there, my brother and sister. Laughing. At me.

Alice was apparently rolling on the ground, since Jasper felt the need to keep me updated on what they were doing.

Emmett was cackling so hard and loud that I thought he was going to pass out from laughing so much.

"You - ba haa ha! You look like Winnie the pooh! Ha haa!" Alice cried.

"Your brother is choking," Jasper said.

"Shut it, dude," I griped at him. He just snickered, though.

Once Emmett had finally calmed down enough, he grabbed around my waist. And pulled.

Really hard.

"Ow, ow, fuck, ow!" I yelled. My voice echoed hollowly. "Shit!" I got my head out, and all that was left was my shoulder, sore from all the tugging.

One last pull, and I was finally free.

Emmett and I ended up in a tangled heap on the ground. Alice jumped on us, laughing, and I groaned. She was small but heavy on my arm. We started laughing together.

We all sobered up at the same time and looked back over to the pipe. Bella was still sitting away from us, back turned. Jasper was kneeling next to the opening, murmuring something to her. She didn't move.

Jasper stood up, then, and turned sideways.

"Dude, that's not a good idea," Emmett said. "You can't fit. You're as big as Ed."

Alice got up, and walked over. "Let me go in." No one said anything as she easily slid between the bars.

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**This was fun to write. XD Edward stuck! Ha!**

**Review if you like. I like hearing what you guys think. c:**

**Asta-la-bye-bye!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's chapter eight, delivered in under thirty minutes or it's FREE! Well, it already is anyway, so enjoy! :)**

**I'm proud to admit that I'm a dork.**

**Disclaimer: TWILIGHT ISN'T MINE. **_

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Bella P.O.V.

I heard Alice come in, but didn't acknowledge her. She didn't try to get my attention, either. It was better that way.

I had been hoping that Jasper would try to get in, but he didn't. I couldn't help the feeling of betrayal I had towards Jasper, since he was with Edward and was kinda aiding him in finding me; capturing me, even. It wasn't his fault, though; I hadn't actually told him the name of the cocky bastard, after all. But I was still hurt, and thinking about it made me clench my teeth together in disgust.

I held back the tears that wanted to flow out. It was a stupid reason to cry, so I refused to.

Behind me, Alice started humming in her musical voice. It bounced around the small, confined space. It sounded nice, though I would never admit that to her. It was relaxing too, and I'm sure that was what she was aiming for, because I was as tense as I ever had been. I was ready to lash out at the first person to try and talk to me.

The pipe's smell got easier to tolerate the longer I stayed in it, so I was finding little reason to want to leave. I felt safe, for once. Edward wasn't staring at me, like he had been when he was stuck. Honestly, he had freaked me out quite a bit while he was chasing me and when he was trying to keep coming in after me. The man had some persistence, I would give him that. He was still an asshole, though.

Alice's humming was starting to make me sleepy. I felt my eyes drooping.

I thought about my grandparents. I really didn't want to face them. Then I wondered, for a panicked moment, if Alice had called them and told them about me running away.

_I doubt it_, I thought. If she had, then they would have told my parents, and Dad probably would have driven all the way up from Tucson just to yell at me.

It was quiet for a long time. After a while, I even felt like the boys had left, gone somewhere. I finally decided to speak.

"Alice," my voice was still dry, crackly. "I'm still mad about the hair cut."

She didn't say anything, but stopped humming.

"I just don't like being pressured into stuff." I excused lamely. Then I got quiet, because I wasn't comfortable saying anything else to her.

She scooted over next to me, and patted my arm. "I understand, Bella."

That was all there was to say.

"Yo, Bella! Are you done whining?" Emmett's loud, booming voice suddenly shouted, amplified by the pipe, and Alice and I turned to glare at him. I had to squint against the bright sunlight. "Alice, gimme the car keys! I wanna go home!" He griped, but moved away from the pipe.

She smiled and looked at me. "Why don't we go to my house? You can take a shower there so your grandparents don't have to see." She looked down at my legs. Oops. I had sliced them open when I fell off the fence, in several places. My realization of this made them burn more. "No pressure, though." She added quietly.

I smirked, but it went away at once. "I'm gonna stay in here for a while."

She looked at me like I was crazy – and at this point I was starting to think that I was, too. But I didn't want to go back to that house. Ever. If my family wanted me to go back, they would have to drag me there, clawing and screaming the whole way.

"Okay. But I can't just leave you alone," she responded quietly.

Someone moved in front of the pipe again, but this time it was Jasper. My mouth clamped shut in anger. "No worries. I'll look after her."

Alice blinked at him. Then she sighed, smiling at me hesitantly. "Bye, Bella." She left quietly, sliding through the bars. I swear I thought I saw her checking Jasper out as she passed him, but she was out of my sight before I could be sure.

Jasper sat down outside the hole, like he had before, but this time he wasn't gentle or sweet. He had obviously run out of patience. "Get your ass over here. Now."

His voice was authoritative and made me bristle. "No way; why don't _you_ get your ass over _here_?"

He shook his head. "This is ridiculous, Bells. I don't exactly understand what your line of thinking is, but it's stupid."

One of the few problems I had with Jasper was that he was extremely honest sometimes, to the point of being an asshole. I kept my rude comments to myself, though, because I really didn't want to fight with him, of all people.

"How did you get here?" I asked.

"Tyler gave me a ride."

Huh. So Tyler had actually come through for once. "But then why are you dirty?" I turned around as I wondered about this.

I could barely see him smiling. My eyes were having a hard time adjusting.

"Well," he started, sounding amused, "we were about twenty minutes from the house, going along this dirt road, right? And get this, Tyler swerved because he didn't want to hit this damn jack rabbit he saw in the road."

I laughed and scooted a tiny amount towards the opening.

"So then we crashed into a saguaro cactus; his mom's car is destroyed. I bolted, because he called her and I didn't want to be around when she got there." He shook his head again. "He says I owe him, apparently, but I won't get into that now.

"I walked to your house, from where I remembered you told me it was. On the way, though, I tripped and fell down into this ditch. There were some big rocks down there. They scraped my clothes up pretty bad, but I just felt like an idiot."

I inched forward again, intrigued by his story.

"Oh, and when I finally got to your grandparents' house, this crazy shit _runs me over with his car_."

My eyes widened, my mouth gaping. I didn't know what to say to that.

"I did not run you over!" I heard Edward's voice from far off.

Jasper chuckled. "Okay, so he didn't run me over, but he hit me. I've got this giant bruise on my stomach to prove it, too," he announced, almost proudly. He turned to the side and lifted his shirt, so I could see the colossal purple and black bruise that almost covered his whole abdomen.

"Holy shit!" I yelled, finally closing the distance between us so I could see it closer. "Edward did that?"

"In his defense, he didn't even see me."

"'In his defense,' my ass," I muttered.

He grinned. "I forgave him, though, and I promised him not to press charges. And anyway, he helped me find you, so we're even."

Speechless once again, I sighed. I'm no good with mushy stuff, and the things he was saying definitely counted as mushy.

"So are you going to live in there or what?"

Suddenly a smile spread across my face, and I answered, "No. I might need some help getting out, though." I stood up, and my knees cracked as I did. I bit my lip; I hated that sound.

I turned sideways and was halfway through the bars when Jasper grabbed my arm.

"I really did miss you," he said, smiling slightly.

"I missed you too." I replied.

He helped me wiggle out, and then we sat down again, side by side.

We were quiet, for a while, and I knew Jasper was keeping his mouth shut to let me think. I was pretty sure he was going to help me out with whatever I decided to do.

_I have the greatest friend in the world_, I thought. I probably wouldn't tell him that, though. But it was true.

I curled up into a ball, wrapping my arms around my legs and letting the sun warm me. The concrete had been surprisingly cold, despite the ninety degree weather.

_What am I going to do? It's not like I can really run away from all this. I could try, but I would probably starve and die of a stroke in some random location in Phoenix. Not fun. And Jasper… what about him? His mom will be sooo pissed off._

I looked over at Jasper, and that's when I realized he was watching me, his eyes speculating.

"Where did Edward and those other two go?" He asked suddenly, taking me off guard.

I shrugged, taking a quick glance around the retention basin. "I don't know," I muttered, my brow creasing. I had this suspicious feeling crawling over my skin at the realization that they were gone, but I just shrugged again. There wasn't much I could do about it anyway.

"That girl with them was pretty hot," he added.

I was so shocked that I turned my head really fast to look back at him, smacking it against an iron bar in the process. "Ow! Shit!" I shouted, covering my face with my hand. My forehead was pulsing like it had its own heartbeat, each throb filled with pain.

Jasper snickered, and I glared at him, though he just grinned. "She is hot, Bells. Why didn't you tell me there was a sexy girl right next door to you?"

Putting my face back in my hands, I mumbled, "You are so gross."

"I'm a man."

"Case in point." Thinking about men and their grossness, I suddenly looked up at him again. "Oh, Jasper, remember why I asked you to come?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Wow. I'd forgotten about that." He scratched the back of his head with his hand, stretching his legs out before him. "Yeah, I remember. I got distracted when a certain someone decided to take off, though." He narrowed his eyes at me, and I smiled innocently in response.

"Yeah. I wanted you to threat the asshole so he would leave me alone."

He smiled, turning to face me a little. "So? Tell me the guy's name."

"Oh, you've met him already. It's Edward."

Edward P.O.V.

I got this chill up my spine, the kind that makes me feel like someone is talking about me. I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel in irritation, glancing over at Alice in the passenger seat. She had her cell glued to her ear and was talking non-stop.

We'd left Emmett at the retention basin with the two love birds. Or at least I thought they were, but Alice had shook her head at me when I made a joke out of it. Like she could tell just by looking at them or something. Either way, we were on our way home, and I was pretty sure it was to do some snitching.

Alice looked small and innocent, but she never let anyone go unpunished if they deserved it. And Bella Swan, according to my sister, needed a kick in the pants.

"Oh, no problem, Mrs. Swan," Alice gushed sweetly. "My brother is watching over them. They are staying right where they are. We'll be there in a few minutes to take you there."

This seemed like a low blow, even to me. Bella was annoying, sure. But I felt like a rat tattling to her Grandma and Grandpa.

I sighed and kept driving, though. Alice also sighed, and ended the call, leaning back against the seat. We sat in silence until we reached our house, where Bella's grandparents were standing in the driveway. I'd been doing yard work for Mrs. S since as long as I can remember living there, and I had never seen her looking so angry. Her face was so red that she looked like she was ready to burst into flames.

I got out of the car and smiled politely, holding my hand out for them both to shake. I felt like this was formal; probably because I also felt like I was bringing Bella her executioners, but thatpart didn't really bother me. I wondered who would show up at her funeral.

Mr. S shook my hand right away, and he was smiling almost cheerfully. Weird. However, his wife didn't even look at my outstretched hand. I suddenly got the impression that she wasn't in the mood to do anything but rip her granddaughter's throat out.

_Time for Bella Swan to meet her maker_, I thought as the two of them piled into the back seat. Alice started chatting with them about the recent decline in temperature. In Arizona during the summer, the heat is a constant topic, and any influx of it is discussed until it changes again.

I looked at the temperature reading on the small screen next to the radio in my car. It was a whopping 102 degrees Fahrenheit. I felt bad for Jasper, but little pity for Bella, since it was her own fault she was sitting out in this desert.

Jasper was one strange guy. I remembered the whole time while we were looking for Bella, he had just kept insisting that she wouldn't be at the mall or the movie theater, where I thought she would be. Truthfully, that's where I would've gone, since both places have air conditioning. But as he kept saying:

"Bella is too stubborn to go to those places. She would think it was a weakness to go somewhere like that."

I just thought she was crazy, but either way, that only made it easier to find her. When we had circled around nearly the whole city, Jasper finally pointed me in the direction of the place where he thought she would be.

"We've already been down that way," I had insisted.

He had coolly responded to this with, "Just go left, already."

When we got back around to that same park, I felt like I had found the fucking Holy Grail, since we had been searching for so long. There was Bella, sitting in a relaxed position on the bench, her hair ratty and her black t-shirt soaked with sweat stains. I saw her before Jasper did, and I called out her name furiously. She turned her head around swiftly, saw my car, and took off like a bullet from a gun.

I definitely hadn't expected that. But then again, I could never guess what Bella had up her sleeve next.

I slammed my car door after hopping out and locked it, taking off after her. It was actually quite embarrassing, running after her through the suburban neighborhood. Families gathered outside their white-picket-fence houses gaped at us as we steamrolled through their streets. I don't think she even noticed the people watching us, though; she seemed hell-bent on getting away from me.

There were several things that I picked up on while I was running after her. One, she could run pretty damn fast, compared to other girls I'd met. Two, Jasper was actually kinda slow; he would never have caught up to her if I wasn't there to pick up the slack. Three, she was too stubborn for her own good; I saw that when she was forcing herself through the iron bars of the drainage pipe. And four, the sheer look of terror on her face the one time she looked back at me made me falter in my running.

What? I'm not completely heartless.

Though maybe I was, because when we finally made it back to the retention basin, I had to hide my smirk as her grandparents got out of the car and she glared at me with such fury it could have melted the glass.

I got out of the car and watched as Bella seemed to be debating whether to run again or not, but by the time we reached the pipe, she couldn't have gotten two inches without me catching her. This was a fact that she knew, so she stood up and crossed her arms. Jasper stood next to her, his gaze flitting from me to Alice, and he didn't look happy either.

"Hey, Peter." Bella greeted calmly.

I was confused for a second, but then her Grandpa's eye twitched, and I realized she was talking to him.

"Isabella-" he began, but she cut him off.

"I don't want to hear it! Just send me to boarding school, or home, or wherever you were planning on shipping me to." She waved her arms around wildly, daring him to speak. Was it just me, or did I see a hint of watering in her eyes? "I've been here long enough, don't you think?"

"You better stop talking to me like that, young lady," he said, "Especially in front of your friends."

She laughed, harshly, and I must have imagined the tears, because any hinting of them was gone. "Friends? The only friend I have here is Jasper!" She shouted, and pointed angrily at me and Alice. "Those people next to you aren't my friends! They never will be, either!"

As they continued fighting, I saw Emmett emerge from his hiding spot at the top of the slope of the basin, his expression sheepish. From his face, I could tell that the argument was echoing around the basin. I suddenly didn't want to be there. I had no reason to watch as Bella got reamed by her grandparents. I just wanted to get her back for getting me stuck.

But I stood where I was, because while Alice would take responsibility for tattling, I would want my sister to stand by me in the same situation.

"-your father will certainly be hearing about this!"

"Go ahead! Tell him; he already thinks I'm a failure!"

"Now see here, he's only doing what's best for you-"

"And that includes you two because-?"

"We were going to set you right, but you're just being-"

Until that point, Mrs. Swan had stayed quiet, like I imagined her doing through many arguments. But then her face was livid again, and she practically screamed, "ENOUGH! SHUT THE HELL UP, BOTH OF YOU!"

Bella and her grandpa instantly got quiet, gaping at the old woman.

She smiled, which was intimidating in its own way. "Thank you. Now, we are going to deal with this like adults, in our own home. Bella, get in the car. Jasper, I don't even know how you got here, but please, come with us." Her smile grew wider, and I saw Jasper take a small step away from her. "You can shower at our house and call your mother."

When she turned to look at me and Alice, I shuddered slightly. This wasn't the nice old lady who baked cookies for us after doing yard work. This was some kind of demon.

"Thank you both, and your brother," she glanced up at Emmett in his hiding place like she knew he'd been there the whole time, and he ducked down slightly. "I really appreciate this. Bella could have been hurt very badly."

Bella started to object, but Mrs. S silenced her with one glare.

My God, she's Satan incarnate, I thought, moving away from the old woman.

"Okay, now that we're all settled here, let's get in the car."

"Lorraine-"

"Not another damn word, Pete." She hissed.

We all filed silently to the car, and since my poor baby only seats five people, we found a dilemma. I toyed around with the idea of putting Bella in the trunk, but decided that mentioning something like that would only piss her grandma off.

In the end, Emmett was driving, I was paired up with Jasper, as was Bella and Alice. Mr. Swan was sitting in the passenger seat with his wife sitting in the back between us four. I have to say, it wasn't one of my more dignifying experiences.

Jasper was stretching the seatbelt so far that he was barely sitting on my lap, shoving himself as far away as possible. "So," he started, "is that a pistol in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

Bella instantly cracked up, and I realized that it was the first time I'd ever heard her laugh before. I swear she snorted. One look from her grandma, though, and she huffed, looking back out the window. I think she was trying to ignore the fact that Alice was sitting on her lap, looking quite comfortable for someone who had just ratted Bella out.

"Shut up, Jasper," I muttered, pushing him against the back of Emmett's chair. He made a hilarious "Oof!" sound. He twisted around, completely off of me now, kneeling so that his head didn't hit the ceiling.

"Oh, now it's on, Cullen!" He yelled, shoving his shoulder into my stomach, hard.

_Damn, that hurt._"Freaking blondie!" I pushed him back towards Emmett's seat, but then my brother pulled to the side of the road and leaned his chair back so that he was crushing me and Jasper together.

"Emmett, cut it out!" I yelled. I took swipes at his curly brown hair, but couldn't find purchase on it. He laughed so loudly that it rang in my ears.

I would have thought that Bella's grandparents would have said something about our monkeying around, but they just watched us like we were puppies wrestling eachother or something.

Alice was giggling, and Jasper and I said at the same time, "It's not funny!"

Okay, so if I wasn't the one being crushed into a man sandwich, it would've been pretty funny. But as it turns out, it was me, so I made Emmett put his seat back up, and he resumed driving, chuckling to himself.

"Truce?" Jasper asked, laughing.

"Sure," I sighed, just happy to be able to breathe again.

The ride back to the cul-de-sac was pretty much harmless, except for the definite ominous feeling in the air. I looked over at Bella, suddenly wanting to see what her face looked like, see if any of this situation had gotten to her. For a second, I couldn't see her, because she was still facing the window. But then I looked at her reflection and saw that she was smiling slightly.

Bella P.O.V.

After getting back to the house with my grandma and grandpa, I watched mutely as Edward, Alice, and Emmett cheerfully made their way back home. Of course, they would feel like they had done some good deed by bringing me back here, but it was nothing of the sort.

I walked through the doorway and imagined it as a guillotine, waiting to sever my head from my body as soon as I walked in.

Grandma sent Jasper upstairs to take a shower, and had me take a seat on the couch, with Grandpa right next to me. It seemed like there was a lecture coming for the both of us.

"Are you thirsty, dear?" Grandma asked me.

I shook my head, because while yes, I was extremely thirsty, having a glass of water wouldn't make this situation any better. Grandma looked at me like she didn't believe me, but sat down in Grandpa's usual armchair, crossing one leg over the other.

"Now that we're not showcasing our arguments to anyone but ourselves, please," she gestured to us with her hand, almost sarcastically, "continue with the yelling."

When neither of us had anything to say, she sighed.

"Peter, just tell her what's on your mind."

Grandpa bristled at this for some reason. "What's on my mind?" He turned to me. "You're a little disrespectful brat, that's what's on my mind!"

Before I could give him a retort, Grandma hissed, "Can you do it without being ridiculous? No screaming, no hand gestures, just _talk to her_."

He blinked at me. "Isabella," he began calmly, "why are you such a disrespectful brat?"

What a dick! I was fuming. "Look here,_ Peter_-!"

Grandma suddenly smacked me with a rolled up newspaper, like I was a dog or something. I recoiled from it; not because it hurt, but because it scared the crap out of me, just all of a sudden.

"Shit, Grandma!" I protested.

She smiled. "Just _talk_ with him. If you just _talk for once_, maybe you two will actually get somewhere."

I looked back at my Grandfather. He was possibly the only person who had ever treated me so badly in my entire family. Sure, my parents yelled at me, but they never called me so many names. Even my cousins, aunts, and uncles just put up with my behavior like it was some phase I was going through. Like I would soon grow out of it.

But not him. Grandpa didn't deal with bull shit like that. Just like me.

That moment was one of those rare times when I was able to think a little more maturely. I looked at my grandpa and saw where I got some of my no-nonsense behavior. He didn't let anyone push him around, except maybe his wife, but that was understandable. He called me on my shortcomings, and didn't let me get away with anything, even looking at him funny. There were times when he deserved to be slapped, like that exact moment, but instead I did something I had rarely gotten the courage to do.

"I'm sorry," I said, even surprising myself a little. He looked so taken aback that I thought he might have a heart attack. "Grandpa, I'm sorry. I know I make you put up with a lot. But you and Dad haven't even tried to listen to me at all! When he found Jasper and me-"

"Bella," he said, eyes suddenly tired, weary. "I know. You don't have to tell me yet, if you're not ready. I don't know what you and that blondie were doing that night; I've only heard it from your father. But I just wanted to hear you say you're sorry. Right now, you don't have to give me anymore than that."

I felt my throat close up, and my tear ducts were ready to burst. But I refrained, again, because it was not time for me to show them my tears just yet. I don't know why or how I knew, but I knew that crying was only for special occasions, at least to me.

And I'm not good with mushy stuff; I've said it before. But hugging my grandparents was the next thing I did, and it felt easy and natural. Warm, too.

But then Grandma broke the short moment of bliss as she said:

"You're grounded for running away, though."

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**There you have it! Oh, and don't try any of what you've read in here at home. Please! I especially don't recommend the doubling up while driving.**

**Asta-la-bye-bye!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! Soo, it's here, finally! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! Please, please,_ please_ give me some feedback! I want to know that I'm doing a good job with this! And what I can do to fix it if I'm not! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Nickelback or Alanis Morissette or anything affiliated with them! :)**

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Bella P.O.V.

Okay, so in retrospect, I probably should have known that there was some type of punishment in store for me. I mean, who could get away with something like that scotch free? But still. Could Grandpa have come up with a worse torture?

I should have seen it coming. Even though we had our short moment of reconciliation, it was short-lived for my grandfather. After telling them everything that had happened that day at the salon, Grandpa got this evil gleam in his eye. I knew exactly what that meant. He had come up with the perfect punishment.

From that day onwards, my life turned into a different kind of hell.

First, he cut my hair. I kid you not. He hacked and chopped until my long-ish mane was reduced to a wimpy-looking bob, something I thought was best suited for more studious girls. Grandma fixed it up so I didn't look like a boy, but it was still God-awful.

But that was only the beginning. After that, he made me go apologize to Rosalie in person, who actually took it better than I thought she was going to. She complimented my new look and kept snipping away at some customer's hair, pretty much ignoring me.

Then came the worst part.

Grandma had been in contact with Edward and Emmett's parents, obviously, since they did help with the yard work from time to time. So Grandpa got the number, called up Mrs. Cullen, and asked her for a favor.

My punishment was to go over to the Cullen house and clean the whole upstairs, every day – for two fucking weeks. Need I mention that the upstairs included Edward's room?

So there I was, sitting in the living room, waiting for Edward to come over and get me so he could walk me to his house. Yes, that's right; that was part of the deal, too. They couldn't risk me running off again like the last time. He had been the one to ferry me from house to house for the first two days I'd been doing this.

I remembered asking my grandpa how this was a legitimate punishment, and I hated his stupid, simple response.

"Well, since you seem to dislike the Cullens so much, there isn't a much better way to motivate you to behave," he had said, sickeningly smug.

_Fuck you, Grandpa,_ I thought. But of course I didn't say it. He was turning out to be an even bigger asshole than I thought, though. Grandma kept giving him looks, like she didn't even recognize him. She didn't agree with the punishment. Thought it was too weird for me to be cleaning some people's house without adult supervision, since both of the Cullen parents were at work or some other event when I went over there.

As if my situation wasn't bad enough, I had to deal with the guilt of getting Jasper into trouble again. I felt extremely bad about what happened, since it was my childish whims that had brought him to Phoenix in the first place. He had taken his shower, and then he was made to sit on the couch watching some sport with my Grandpa. When his mom came and got him, I waved at her, and she looked like she wanted to rip my head off. That woman scared me. I assume that the reason he hadn't answered my calls was because they were giving him a punishment, too, though there was no doubt that it would be ten times worse than mine. His parents were horribly strict.

It suddenly occurred to me that he hadn't even said anything to Edward about leaving me alone, although I didn't think that it mattered anymore; Jasper wouldn't be able to intimidate Edward, anyway. They sort of knew each other. Once you knew Jasper, you knew that he was pretty much a pacifist.

The door bell rang, and I felt a large part of my soul wither away. I had been cleaning the Cullen house for two days, and during those forty-eight hours I had learned one thing: Edward _loved _dirtying up his room just so I could clean it.

I got up and answered it, and of course, there was Edward, his grin wider than it was the day before. I made a face at him and silently closed the door behind me, locking it.

"Hello, Isabella," he chuckled at my full name, and the fact that he had figured out that it pissed me off when people used it. "Ready to clean my quarters?"

I didn't answer for a number of reasons. One, if I was rude to him, he was to tell his mom and she would notify my grandma. Which was really dumb. I mean, seriously – it's not like I was the only one who started the fights. There was no way for me to prove that he egged me on, though. Two, who the hell used the word "quarters" to describe their room?

Once we were over at his house, I gritted my teeth against the smell of bleach and flowers that absolutely covered the front and living rooms. It got more and more unbearable every time I went over there.

I pinched my nose with one hand, and Edward rolled his eyes at me.

"This is what a house is supposed to smell like," he muttered, taking off his shoes at the doorway.

That was another thing. His mother was totally anal – made everyone take off their shoes before coming into the house; I even saw her spray the trash can in the kitchen with air freshener. Not kidding.

"As opposed to what?" I retorted, unable to help myself with responding.

He smiled. "As opposed to smelling like old people and sweat."

Fine, he got me there. I had nothing to say to that as I slipped off my tennis shoes and followed him up the stairs and to his room.

Just saying, I hate walking behind people on the stairs. Because out of habit I keep back, but then their ass is right in my face. So with Edward, I stayed back even farther, to the point that he was waiting for me at the top of the stairs as I hurried up the rest.

When it was clean, his room usually looked pretty nice. He had a twin bed, which frankly was too small for him, and a medium-sized TV with an Xbox hooked up to it. He had this thing for records, and owned a lot of them, piles and piles all over his desk and shelves. His walls were white, and taped to them were all sorts of random clips from newspapers, magazines, and things I thought he had drawn himself. He had a desk, a dresser, and a metal safe he always had locked.

He opened the door to his room and I wanted to throw up.

The records were nowhere to be seen. _Of course, he hides his precious belongings when he wreaks the worst havoc I've ever seen in a bedroom_. His trashcan was dumped over, tons of odds and ends pieces of trash strewn all over the floor, and even on his desk. A can of soda was dumped onto the carpet, some of it splattered onto the wall, which meant that I was going to have to get out the steam cleaner. Something made of glass was broken in one corner, some kind of questionable gray powder was everywhere, and it smelled disgusting. To top the whole thing off, he had actually drawn on the wall with a crayon. And right in front of me sat the usual box overflowing with cleaning supplies. My stomach clenched painfully in anxiety.

"Edward, there's no way in hell-" I began, but he practically forced me into the room and closed the door behind me, laughing. I was about to open it back up and kick him hard when I heard the firm but subtle click of the lock.

"You asshole!" I screamed, kicking his door. I didn't hear a response.

I turned around and stared at the room before me. Even though I was seeing it, I didn't really believe it. Why would Edward go through all of the trouble just to make my life harder? Oh yeah. Because he was a cocky bastard.

Well, the faster I get this over with, the faster I can get the rest of the upstairs done. On the first day, my initial instinct had been to try and get out through his window. But when I had opened it and looked out, there was a rusty bike below, practically melted into the side of the house. Plus, it was on the second story. I may have been desperate, but I wasn't suicidal.

Besides that, I was used to cleaning. My dad always had something for me to spit-shine when I used the wrong tone with him.

I was just putting my hair up into a meager pony-stump when the door behind me clicked and opened. My eyes widened, and I froze; Edward usually didn't come in while I was cleaning, and the day before he had even ignored me when I had finished, making me wait for around twenty minutes before he finally decided to let me out. Crossing my arms and assuming my very best fuck-you face, I turned and my eyes landed on a grinning Emmett.

"Um," I said articulately.

"Yo, wassup?" He laughed and walked in, closing the door behind him. His eyes bugged out when he saw his brother's room. "Holy hell!"

I huffed. "Why are _you _here?"

He looked me up and down, a movement that made me squirm a little, which may have been his intention. "You're cranky. I don't like girls when they're cranky. They get all hissy."

"Well sorry, but you just happen to be one of the assholes who ratted me out."

Holding up his hands, he said, "I was simply the designated driver. I had no part whatsoever in the plotting action. That was all Alice and Ed." He let his hands fall and leaned against the wall, seemingly relaxed. I was the opposite. I was so rigid that if someone had touched me at that moment, then I probably would have broken in half. Something about Emmett's presence unnerved me, and it wasn't just because of his size, which was imposing enough.

It was because he was too damn nice.

"I'm here to make a truce," he announced.

My upper lip twitched a little in disgust. "Like I'll ever forgive them." I don't know why I purposefully left Emmett out of my snarl. But once again, he was just so accepting, no matter what, so I felt like I had to reconcile that with something. His kindness was slightly disturbing, not to mention it made me feel like a roaring bitch by comparison.

Emmett nodded at my statement and crossed his arms, mimicking my pose. "I kinda figured. But I wasn't talking about for those two. I was talking about for me. I don't want to get that face every time I see you anymore."

"What face?"

"The face you're making right now."

"I'm not making a face."

"Then that's just your face? Man, did you _have_ a childhood? Where's all your happiness?" He asked, stepping toward me a little bit.

I tried not to take his questions personally, but it still hurt a little. "It's somewhere back in the space-time-continuum, probably when I was in kindergarten. Then happiness pretty much stopped, until I met him, my friend Jasper. He's the only one who can make me laugh."

Then I was taken aback, because Emmett made the weirdest face at me I'd ever seen, with his tongue lolling out of his mouth and his eyes crossing, and I couldn't help it; I busted out laughing.

He grinned. "Ha. Made you laugh."

I rolled my eyes, but allowed myself a small smile.

He rolled up his sleeves, flexing his arms. "Okay, I'm ready. What can I do to help in here?"

"Help?"

"Yeah, you know, it's when one human being does another human being a kindness by assisting them in something that may possibly be too much for just one human being to handle. Have you heard of such a concept? It's all the rage in Kansas." He picked up a rag and started digging around in the box of supplies for something.

I started to defend myself. "But, this is my job, and you don't have to-"

He straightened up and looked at me, no longer smiling. "Truthfully, I think this whole 'punishment' thing is stupid. There's no point in having to torture you to get you to behave. Seriously. And look at this shit," he gestured to the rest of the room. "My little brother is treating you like crap!"

I'd only ever seen Emmett happy before. He was getting kinda riled up, and it was weirding me out a little. "No, um, just-"

"And you know what I noticed about you, Bella? You are actually nice. You try to be tough and bitchy, but I saw how it just slipped right off when Jasper was around. It can't just be him."

I furrowed my brow. "I'm me. There's no nice or bitchy." I uncrossed my arms. "And besides that, this is my job. I tried to get out of this stupid place, and I got caught – by your brother. Truthfully, if our positions were reversed, I probably would have been just as cruel as he's being right now."I allowed myself a grin. "After all, it is kinda my fault that he got stuck in the bars."

Emmett cracked a grin, and threw his head back as he laughed. "Man, that was _classic_! I don't think you've heard, but I keep calling him Pooh Bear because of it! Ha!"

I furrowed my brow and shook my head in confusion. "Sorry, I don't see the relevance."

"Didn't you ever watch Winnie the Pooh as a kid?"

"Not really."

He looked so sad for a second, I almost felt bad for him, but then I realized that it wasn't sadness; it was pity on his face.

"You poor kid!" He cried, coming towards me with his arms spread wide. "_You need a hug_!"

"Oh my God!" I yelled, darting out of the way. "I most definitely do not _need a hug_!"

He got a mischievous gleam in his eye and kept coming at me. "Oh, yes you do!"

I squealed uncharacteristically and ran towards the door. I was laughing as I opened it, feeling girly for once as I ran from Emmett's hug. I was feeling free, but not like I had after leaving the salon, not like I was free from a cage. I think it was more like I was free from being myself.

But then I saw Edward standing on the other side of the door with a strange expression on his face. I couldn't stop my momentum before I collided into him, his eyes widening for one second as I slammed into him. Then we were both sprawled on the floor, me having smacked my head painfully on his shoulder, and him having hit his own head on the wall opposite his bedroom door.

"Owww," we both groaned. I sat back on my heels, and rubbed my forehead. I added that to my growing list of injuries.

He had his eyes closed, but muttered, "What the hell?"

I sighed, "Yeah, seriously. What the hell were you doing outside the door like a creeper?"

His eyes snapped open, and he pushed himself onto his elbows. "I was wondering what the hell you two were making all the noise for. It sounded like you were having a lot of fun," he added, his eyes gleaming with sarcasm.

Emmett laughed, and I felt his hand on my shoulder, pulling me off the ground. "We were having a blast!" He hugged me suddenly, and I was enveloped in his big, warm arms, my heart clenching.

I couldn't remember the last time a boy had hugged me, not even Jasper, since we weren't very touchy-feely. It was warm, and a slow feeling of being safe seeped into me like Emmett radiated protectiveness. I felt my face flush slightly.

Now don't get me wrong, it wasn't like I had a crush on Emmett, seriously. I was just being reminded, in that one hug, how much I was starved for affection. It was sad, actually.

Edward stood up just as Emmett released me. "That was interesting," he said, raising one of his eyebrows. "I didn't know you two were so close."

"We're getting there, Pooh Bear!" Emmett boomed, laughing and patting me on the shoulder.

Edward cringed at the name. "Don't call me that," he hissed, spinning on his heels and walking away. I couldn't help but watch his tall form tromp away, almost like a petulant child. His hands were clutched into fists, the veins sticking out.

Emmett chuckled, walking back into Edward's room. "That'll get rid of him for a while," he noted as I followed him back in. I closed the door, feeling better with it that way.

I sighed again, something I noticed I did a lot around the Cullens. Then Emmett and I got to work on the hell-hole of a room Edward had prepared. We steam-cleaned the soda and, after it was dry, vacuumed up the gray powder, which Emmett explained to be dust previously sucked up earlier in the week by their mom. He took care of the broken glass, which he wanted to put under his brother's blankets, but I just laughed and he threw it away. I dusted his desk and scrubbed the crayon and soda off the wall. I also discovered the source of the smell, which was a rotten sandwich under his bed.

After we were done, it had taken about a third of the time it would have taken me all by myself. I smiled at our hard work.

Emmett stretched. "I don't know how my mom can do this kind of thing all day!"

I started loading the cleaning supplies into the box so that we could take it with us when we moved to another room. "Where is your mom, anyway? I only saw her the first day I was here."

He scratched the back of his head, like he was uncomfortable. "She's a psychiatrist. She has a lot of people she talks to, pretty much every day. I think that was her day off, when you came."

"All she did was clean the downstairs," I said, hefting up the box.

"Let me get that," Emmett said, taking it from my arms and heading for the door. "Yeah, she either works, cleans, or sleeps. There's not much else."

It sounded like he didn't really want to talk about it, but I was curious; I didn't know much about the Cullen parents. They were like a mystery, especially Carlisle, who I hadn't even seen. As I opened the door for Emmett, I asked, "What about your dad?"

He shook his head. "Hardly here. He's always away on business." He set down the box in the next room, which was his own. "Hey, I can handle my own place. Why don't you go have a break for a while," he offered.

I felt guilty enough that he had helped me do my job, and now he wanted to do one of the rooms all by himself. I guess that was understandable, though. I wouldn't really be comfortable with someone cleaning my room for me, either. I nodded at his suggestion and walked down the hall, wondering what I could do. I wasn't really hungry, and I didn't like the idea of snooping around in their kitchen.

I grinned as I got the perfect idea. I think it was time to bug Edward.

Nearly skipping with giddiness down the hall, I found him where he always lounged while I was there – in the office, which I assumed was Carlisle's. He sat behind the desk, his arms folded and his head resting on them. I grinned, and walked in, excited to bother him.

Edward P.O.V.

I heard the door close and groaned loudly. "Emmett, if this is another one of your damn talks, I don't want to hear it."

"Well, if I was Emmett, it probably would be, just to piss you off."

My blood turned into ice as I raised my head from my father's desk, my tired eyes landing on a very smug-looking Bella. "What are you doing in here?" I nearly growled.

She smiled and sat in the leather arm chair in the corner, making herself a little too comfortable. "I'm taking a break. Emmett's cleaning his room by himself, and he told me to relax a little." She stretched her arms over her head and put them behind her head, crossing one leg over the other, fully pissing me off. She had a way of worming herself under my skin, something I tried to copy and force onto her, but I doubted I did it as well as she did.

Either that or she was better had hiding her anger than I was.

"Get out," I ordered her harshly.

"But I'm supposed to be here!" She said innocently. "I probably would have been out of here sooner if you hadn't trashed your room." She pointed out. Damn Emmett. Times like this were the motivations behind me locking her in my room.

"I did that to get back at you," I retorted.

"For what?" She asked, suddenly angry. "Didn't you already get back at me for everything I've ever done to you? What about the things you've done to me?"

I rolled my eyes and was about to tell her that there wasn't anything I had done to her, but she silenced me with two words:

"The kiss?"

I blanched, standing up. "That was when you first got here! It doesn't even amount to what you've tortured me with?"

She stood up, too, yelling. "What on earth could I have possibly done to you! I didn't do squat!"

I opened my mouth to tell her exactly what she did, but I held myself back. If she knew, it would only give her more ammunition than she needed to get to me.

I couldn't possibly tell her that I was coming to feel sorry for her, that I had seen her smiling with Emmett and felt slightly jealous that he could get along with her so easily and that she so obviously despised me. She might not have believed me, anyway, with her untrusting tendencies.

"Just go," I sighed, sitting down again. It wasn't worth arguing over.

She huffed, putting her hands on her hips. She definitely didn't want to stop our argument. Sometimes I truly think she enjoyed fighting with people, for some twisted reason. I could never fully figure Bella out; she was constantly surprising me, keeping me on my toes.

Which she did again. As she looked around the office, her eyes landed on my father's impressive stereo system, and her face instantly brightened, like a little girl spotting a puppy in a pet store. She nearly ran over to it, looking at the shelf above it, littered with CDs.

"This is awesome!" She said, seeming to have forgotten my telling her to leave. She turned to look at me, and asked, "Can I touch it?"

I smirked. "Go ahead. It's my dad's." I knew he wouldn't mind, anyway. Plus, It was interesting for me to see Bella getting so childishly animated about something. She read through the CD titles quickly and turned on the stereo, making a selection and putting it in.

I didn't recognize the rock song that started playing, but she looked back at me and started humming. "I love this song! Your dad has good taste!" She exclaimed.

I wondered how she had changed so quickly. One second she was fighting with me about which one of us was more horrible to the other, and the next she was smiling from ear to ear, bobbing her head up and down. It was weird. Bella Swan was a constant mystery.

"I didn't know you like music," I said, and she turned down the volume, looking at the CDs again.

"I love music," she sighed, plucking another disk from the shelf. "Wow. Your dad is weird," she said, turning around and showing me the cover. It was a hand, with tiny words making circles around and around it. "I didn't know there was a grown man in existence that enjoys Alanis Morissette."

I laughed. "That's probably Alice's. She uses Dad's system when she wants to be obnoxious to everyone in the house, so sometimes she leaves her stuff in here."

Bella made a face at the mention of Alice and replaced the CD.

Crap. I had said the wrong thing. "Um, you know, you should probably forgive Alice."

She gave me a face that said, _No thanks_, and she continued browsing through the collection of music. Something told me that I wasn't going to get anything else out of her on the subject, so I dropped it. I also suspected that she didn't forgive me, either, but I wasn't sure. I would ask Emmett what he thought after she went home.

We sat there for what felt like hours, me relaxing, listening to Bella humming along with the songs she played. She never let one play for long, always skipping to the next impatiently. Sometimes she would dance, other times she would catch a few seconds of the opening and snort, like she knew exactly what was coming. I'd never seen anyone get so immersed in music before. It made me envy her, simply because I had been the same, at one time.

The moment to me felt like bonding, which was both strange and welcome. Bella gave me mixed feelings; there were instances when I wanted her to stop hating me, although mostly she made me want to piss her off. I think I pulled that off pretty nicely, especially with my room. I probably wouldn't be doing it again, though – it didn't do much good if Emmett was helping her, anyway.

I hadn't realized that I had fallen asleep until I started awake, looking around the room in a daze. The clock read 6:00 P.M. I had slept for hours.

I rubbed my face with my hands tiredly and noticed that Bella was gone, and the stereo was still playing. I recognized it instantly, because it was one of my old CDs that I was pretty sure had been in my desk drawer; the song was Savin' Me, by Nickelback.

At that time, I didn't really know what she had meant by it. The song was on repeat, but I figured she had selected it just because it's a good song. Now I know otherwise.

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**Thanks for reading! And seriously, _please_ let me know if I'm not doing a good job! **

**Asta-la-bye-bye! **


	10. Chapter 10

**It's a snow day today, so I decided to write this up. :)**

**(Added note: Sorry if me redoing one part of this chapter sends a notice to those of you with story alerts, but I can't let my error go. :/ It's bothering the heck out of me! I caught it after I posted, of course. Stupid me. Sorry!)  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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Edward P.O.V.

"Alice," I began, not really liking what I was about to say, "I think you're going to have to tell Bella you're sorry."

Her eyes got big at me, and I felt intimidated, even though she's smaller than Bella and was wearing her Tinkerbell pajamas at the time of me telling her this. But I had to say it. Even if Alice was going to kill me. Something about the strange feud between the brat and my sister bothered me, and I wanted it to stop.

"There is no way! I shouldn't have to apologize to _her_!"

I quirked an eyebrow at my sister.

She started making whatever rational excuse she had formed in her head and stopped, sighing. "You know what? I'm still not going to say sorry." She straightened up. "That girl is such a kid," she muttered, walking past me and stomping down the stairs. "Getting Edward to butter me up… my own brother…"

I decided it would be better if I didn't tell Alice that I had come to her on my own. It might give her a seizure if I told her otherwise.

_Well, I tried_; I shrugged, and went to my room.

I looked around, remembering the day before when, in my anger, I had made the biggest mess my room had ever had to suffer. I had had the most disturbing dream, involving Bella and me kissing, and I had woken up definitely _not happy_.

My records, sitting on my desk, unharmed, were fucking mocking me, like they always did. Reminding me of_ her_. I imagined her blonde hair and sharp green eyes, her damn laugh, and I ground my teeth together, picked up a record, and was about to fling it at the window when my door opened and Emmett screamed:

"PARTY!"

I faltered, and to my embarrassment, I fell, my record safely hitting the ground while I struck it with both knees, hard.

"Shit, Emmett!" I yelled, getting back to my feet awkwardly. "What are you yelling about?"

He grinned, waltzing in, picking up the record and placing it back on my desk. "You, my friend, need to party," he did a ridiculous swinging motion with his hips and continued, "party _hardy_!"

I smacked my forehead with my hand and let it drag down my face.

"Dude, seriously," he insisted, putting an arm around my shoulder and leading me out of my room, "we need to do something! Dad is gone for, like, another week, and mom is doing that big conference in Denver this weekend! We totally need to throw a gigantic party! And invite everyone we know!"

I rolled my eyes, but decided to humor him. "Uh-huh. Sounds fantastic."

Emmett twirled me, then, I kid you not, and said, "It sounds way bettah than fantastic! Gimme something to work with here, my brother! Let loose a little, man!"

He stopped spinning me around and stared at me seriously. Then he whispered, "And we can invite _hot chicks_."

"You're embarrassing me," I whispered back.

"Like Rosalie," he added, waggling his eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes and pulled away from him. So that's what he was up to, poor guy. He had a major crush on Alice's hair stylist. It was pretty cliché. It's not like I didn't think she was hot, she just seemed very high-. Which is possibly the most least-appealing quality in the world.

"You're forgetting something," I said. "We live in a cul-de-sac. If anyone, say, Bella's grandparents, decide to notify Mom and Dad of our little excursion, then we would be screwed."

He looked so broken-hearted that I wanted to laugh at him. But once Emmett got an idea in his head, he usually didn't let go of it. "Then we shall find somewhere else to hold the party! Somewhere classy!"

"Like Crazy Mikes?" I snorted sarcastically, chuckling.

But Emmett got really excited, and I wish I hadn't said anything.

"Dude, that is so perfect! We can have a get-together there, and maybe go see a movie with everyone! Oh man, this is going to be great!"

I rolled my eyes, and said, "Okay, yeah. You make those plans, and I'll be in my room… not making those plans." And I slipped away before he could nab me again.

He whooped. "We can even invite Bella!"

I hated having siblings sometimes.

I locked my door once I was in my room. (I had switched it around when Bella had come over the past three days, but I changed it back because Emmett discovered that he could lock me in there if he so wished to, damn brat.) And then I collapsed onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. I was worn out, and it was only ten o' clock in the morning. _Almost time to go pick up the brat_.

Emmett bounded down the hallway; I heard his giant steps as he leaped down the stairs, and then Alice squealed, so I assume he picked her up or something like that.

"Party on Saturday night!" He shouted.

"Put me down, Em!" Alice demanded. She was always in a bad mood in the mornings. Definitely a night person.

I sat up and made a decision on what I would be doing until I had to go pick up Bella. I grabbed my Xbox controller and put my mic on, ready to play some Halo. "Hey, Em! Come help me kick some noob ass!"

Bella P.O.V.

I walked down the stairs in my cleaning attire, ratty t-shirt and sweatpants, my hair put up into my sorry excuse for a ponytail. When I reached the bottom, my face turned about five shades of red, because there were about six old men - including my grandpa - sitting at the kitchen table, all holding playing cards in their hands.

Crap, it was Grandpa's poker day.

I ducked back onto the staircase and hoped that none of them had seen me. I didn't think so, since the eerie silence they had still held.

Then I jumped, because one of them suddenly yelled, "Whoo! Got me a good hand here!"

"Yeah, yeah, Phil, dream on."

"He's always bluffin'."

"Heh heh, you're one to talk, Harry."

My Grandpa spoke up, "All of you hush up! My wife is still sleeping!"

There was a chorus of "Oooooohs," and I smiled because they were like little kids or something, teasing their friend.

One with a ragged voice commented, "Man, Peter, I gotta tell you that that wife a' yours is still quite the looker."

I shuddered.

There was a light smack, and the ragged voice exclaimed, "Ow! I'm just sayin'!"

"James, you're still quite the asshole," an extremely deep-voiced one said.

Grandpa shushed them all, and it got quiet again. Then I heard him barely whisper, "My granddaughter is on the stairs, so watch what you say."

Oh come on! How did he see me?

"Come on out, Bella. Let me introduce you."

I stood up and grimaced, adjusting my ponytail and scratching my arms. Then I started back up the stairs, and it creaked in betrayal.

"Don't even think about scurrying away. I want you to meet the boys," he said, and it was echoed by the old men's' grunts of approval.

I sighed. "But I have to leave soon," I excused.

"You leave when I say you leave," he griped, finally getting impatient. "Just get down here!"

Defeated, I stomped down the stairs and turned around the corner, waiting for whatever the old men were going to throw at me.

One of them whistled at me, which made me mentally cringe. He had a bald head, with large, bushy eyebrows and a sagging face. When he spoke, his voice was ragged. "I'm James," he said, and made a weird face.

Another man, with coffee-colored skin and black eyes, smacked James on the back of the head. "You're disgusting," he muttered, probably trying to make it so I didn't hear him. He looked at me and smiled, something that made him look very handsome, for an old man. He looked Native American. "Hello, Bella. I'm Billy. We've heard so much about you."

Oh, great. There was no telling what horror stories my Grandfather had chosen to bestow them with.

Grandpa introduced them all. The other three were named Sam, Harry, and Phil. Sam was the youngest of them all, still old, though, and he was one of the nicest. He had skin as tanned as Billy's, and a kind smile, though he didn't talk much. Harry was actually Sam's brother, which made sense to me. They had the same nose. Then there was Phil, who wasn't so bad, even though he had memory problems and false teeth, the oldest of the group.

My favorites were Billy and Harry, though. They were the kindest of the six, and that other, not-as-good ratio included my Grandpa, the asshole.

I smiled wryly at them all, except for James, who seriously creeped me out a little. "Hi," I said. "It's nice to meet the men who my Grandpa wastes time with every week. Nice to know he's spending time with such _good _company rather than his wife," a hint of sarcasm went into my greeting that I hadn't meant to add.

Surprising me, they all busted out laughing.

"She's got your mouth, Peter! Ha!" Phil laughed, slapping his knee.

They calmed down after a few minutes, but I suddenly felt awkward, since I hadn't meant to make them laugh. I wrung my hands together and sent my eyes downcast, inching away slowly, trying to make my escape without being noticed.

My attempt failed.

"She's sneaking away!" James laughed.

"We're scaring the poor girl," Harry chuckled.

Grandpa laughed, too, which scared me. He never showed emotion in front of me or Grandma, but he would laugh so heartily in front of his friends? He was actually pissing me off a little bit.

"How old are you?" Harry asked.

"Sixteen," I said. "Seventeen in October."

"She's only a year younger than your grandson," James bumped Billy on the shoulder, laughing in his awkward way he had.

Billy nodded. "She and Jacob would get along, I think."

Grandpa suddenly raised his eyebrows and looked at me, contemplating. "That's not a bad idea," he noted.

I didn't like the look on his face. It looked like he was plotting something again.

"Jacob is a good boy," Grandpa nodded, almost to himself, though he was still staring at me. I fidgeted where I stood, badly wanting to leave. "He would set her right, don't you think?" He asked Billy.

Billy rolled his eyes. "My grandson has been acting up lately. I don't think forcing Bella to hang out with him would be such a good idea, anyway, Peter."

"But it would help a little, don't you think?"

I wanted to rip Grandpa's throat out, the way he was talking about me and I was standing a mere five feet away from him. "I'm _right here_, you know," I griped. "Besides, I'm having enough hassle dealing with the Cullens, so you can just _fuck off_, Grandpa!" I shouted, not caring that it was in front of his friends, two of whom I actually liked. He deserved to be humiliated.

I spun around on my heels and marched toward the front door. I was out of there.

"Isabella Marie Swan!" I heard him call in his you-are-so-dead voice. I ignored him dutifully and opened the front door, slamming it behind me with a grunt.

I stared at the wood, almost waiting for him to come after me with a vengeance, but then there was a familiar chuckle behind me and I sighed.

"What did you do this time?" Edward asked.

"Nothing," I grumbled, raising my head, deciding not to be ashamed of my behavior. It was my Grandpa's fault, anyway. "Let's just go get this day over with," I said, turning around and almost running into Edward. "Gah! Why are you standing to close to me?" I asked, starting to go around him.

He put his arm against the wall, stopping my progress. "Why do you insist on acting like us Cullens are awful? I thought you liked Emmett, anyway."

I felt my face flush slightly. Had he heard me?

"And you even told your own grandfather to 'fuck off,'" he noted, staring at me incredulously.

"Mind your own business," I muttered, about to go around him on the other side, when he put his other arm against the door. He had me cornered.

I huffed. "Edward, seriously," though my breath didn't come out as even as I had intended it to. His green eyes were penetrating me, making my breathing hitch. In that moment, I wanted to slap him and kiss him at the same time, a strange combination.

He smirked, staring at my hair. "You know, you actually look better with short hair. Makes you look cuter." He reached up, and before I realized what he was doing, he had undone my pony tail, letting my chin-length hair go free. I tried to keep my breathing even.

Moving his face closer to mine, he smiled, and I thought that for a second, he was about to kiss me, but he surprised me by going to my ear, saying, "A _lot _cuter," in an extremely soft voice.

That's when realization slapped me in the face. Something about his behavior screamed that he and Emmett had some sort of bet going on, and of course I had been roped into it. I rolled my eyes, broken from his spell, and snatched my rubber band back from him, ducking under his arm hastily. He didn't stop me. "Let's just go," I said, ignoring the heavy beat of my heart, starting to walk to his house. I heard him follow behind me after a few steps.

I put my hair back up, the word _cuter _bouncing around in my head, his soft voice accompanying it. My face flushed slightly, and I wanted to punch Edward for making me feel like that, even if it was only for a few seconds.

He took a few long strides so that he was walking next to me, and I tried to keep my eyes away from him, but he was staring down at me with an amused look on his face, so I stopped walking. "What is your problem?" I demanded.

He stopped as well and put his hands into his pockets. "Nothing, dear Isabella."

I gaped, fumed, and then smiled, getting an idea. "You know, back there, it seemed like you were going to kiss me." I grinned. "I bet it would have been just as bad as the first time."

His face hardened instantly, and he stormed forward, grabbing my face in his strong hands and putting his face close to mine again.

It was so fast that I had no time to say or do anything.

"You asked for it," he almost snarled, putting his lips to mine roughly.

Edward P.O.V.

Well, hey, she did. Basically, anyway.

This time, though, the kiss didn't last very long, because Bella wasn't exactly compliant.

She kneed me in a very bad place.

I instantly let go of her face, and my voice shot up a few octaves when I cried out in pain, keeling over and holding my injured goods.

She was breathing heavily, like she had just run a marathon, and all I could see was her feet. It looked like she wanted to kick me, the way they were positioned, but she didn't, huffing and marching over to my house. Detachedly, I heard Emmett whooping from the front door. Great. A witness.

I stood up. There was pain. I hobbled over to the front door where Emmett was laughing away, giving Bella a hug that I found very unnecessary for the situation. Why didn't she knee _him_ in the nuts?

Making my way to the living room, I opted to ignore what the two of them were talking about, since it seemed to revolve around how dumb I was, anyway.

Alice was sitting on the couch when I got to it, reading some magazine, and watching one of her seasons of Gilmore Girls. I rolled my eyes, and sat down anyway.

"So, why'd you kiss her?" She asked, scaring the crap out of me.

I groaned, still in quite a bit of pain. "I don't know. It was on impulse."

"Again?"

"Not the same as last time. She just drives me crazy," I whispered, so Bella and Emmett wouldn't hear in the front room.

Alice peeked at me over her magazine. "She drives you crazy as in," she made an angry face, "she drives you crazy, or," she waggled her eyebrows, "_she drives you crazy_?"

I rolled my eyes. "The first one, obviously."

"I don't know, Ed," she looked at the TV, "I wouldn't discount the latter."

I was about to tell her how stupid that even was when Bella walked into the room, hands on her hips. That was her signature stance, and I knew she was about to lay into me or some crap.

"You're such a pig," she hissed. She didn't look in Alice's direction, so I assumed she was still ignoring her, which kind of pissed me off.

Bella continued, "Seriously, Edward! I get that the first time was because of a bet, but why would you try to kiss me a second time?"

I ignored her, staring at the TV like I was actually paying attention to it. But I was gripping the edge of the couch so hard my fingers were starting to hurt. She was pissing me off.

"What the hell compels you to act like such an idiot?"

"You do, you irritating girl!" I shouted, surprising even myself as I stood up. Bella tried to keep on her tough façade, but I saw her flinch slightly, her expression falter. "You stand there, giving me crap, but you were the one who pushed the wrong buttons! And I'm just supposed to sit here and take all the blame? No fucking way!"

I stared down at her, glad for once of my height. I was a head taller than she was, giving me something to work with, to intimidate her with.

Alice, behind me, coughed. "Bella, you need to give Edward some space." She said, putting down her magazine. "He's not exactly sure what to do with you when you're around."

I hated that she was speaking like I wasn't there, but it still made me happy that Alice was sticking up for me, in some way.

Bella rolled her eyes. "It sure as hell doesn't seem like that," she hissed, glaring at my sister. "And who are you to talk, anyway? I don't want anything to do with you, either."

Alice sighed and stood up. "You still don't get it? I did that for your own good. If you keep acting out and getting away with it, then you'll never stop being how you are. You'll always be immature, Bella."

The brat was fuming, clenching her fists. "I'm seriously tired of people talking to me like they know everything. You don't know shit, Alice, so just shut up!"

And with that, she stormed out, stomping up the stairs. I had expected her to leave the house entirely, but once again, Bella the Mystery Brat had done something unexpected again.

I sat down on the couch, tired. Gilmore Girls had just ended, and was back on the main menu.

"Are you gonna change the disk?" I asked.

"No. There's enough drama in this house without watching fake versions of it," she sighed, turning the TV off. "I'm gonna go talk to her," she said.

"Good luck." I offered, hoping she wouldn't need it.

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**:) **

**Asta-la-bye-bye!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long-overdue update. :) And sorry it's so short. But I'm in the process of working on the next chapter, so that should be out within the next week or so. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight**

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Bella P.O.V

My arm was starting to sting from all the scrubbing I was doing, but at that exact moment I was too consumed by my anger to really care. Emmett was helping me clean the upstairs again, and I could feel his steady gaze as he watched me scrub the bathtub with vigor.

"Your arms are going to fall off," he said.

"Maybe," I hissed, switching the sponge to my right hand to give the other a break. "But this soap scum is going_ down_."

I could nearly hear him rolling his eyes, but he didn't say anything. I had noticed that Emmett didn't really like to get caught up in arguments. He seemed to just stand on the sidelines, waiting to pull anyone apart if things got too violent.

I had a feeling that if I had stayed down there with those two any longer, I would have ripped Alice's petite little head off, so it was probably best to have a referee ready.

"Bells, it's probably none of my business, but seriously, _stop scrubbing_."

Ignoring him, I switched hands again and kept going. I would make the bathtub so Goddamn shiny that it blinded Edward and Alice when they used it. Emmett I would feel bad for, but he was a casualty I was willing to sacrifice for the sake of revenge.

Emmet's big hand was suddenly taking the sponge away from me, and I cried out wordlessly in protest.

"Yo, crazy girl, relax. Take a breather. I think the bleach fumes are getting to your head."

I rolled my eyes, but noticed that I _was _developing a slight headache.

"Go get a glass of water or something," he ordered, and lifted me away from the tub. I was speechless as he dumped me out of the bathroom unceremoniously.

"Emmett –" I began to protest.

"No," he said with finality, and shut the door in my face, locking it.

Crap. Cleaning was, at the moment, my only outlet. I had nowhere else to vent my anger.

But then I felt a familiar presence at my shoulder, and I nearly screamed, because Alice was right freaking behind me.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, jumping away from her. My heart started pumping quickly, sending the adrenaline careening through my veins. "What is with you and your family? One of you is always sneaking up on me!"

She rolled her blue eyes and shook her head, her long hair up in a ponytail. "You're just bad at noticing your surroundings," she said.

I felt as though I had just been insulted, and my usual instinct to defend myself reared up.

"Don't," Alice said harshly, shoving something quickly into my hands.

I looked down at what she had given me and I actually cocked my head to the side in my confusion.

"Boxing gloves?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes," she hissed. "Boxing gloves."

I hadn't really seen Alice angry before – and I mean serious, unblinking anger, the kind that seemed to consume her then. It was quite a bit unnerving.

I raised my eyebrows, not understanding. "And what am I to do with these gloves?"

"Put them on."

"Are we fighting?"

"Not technically," she muttered. "Follow me."

Even though I was still angry, I was curious to see where she was going with the whole here-have-a-boxing-glove-follow-me thing, so I just walked behind her. We went down the stairs, through the kitchen, and finally through their laundry room.

We were in the garage, a place I had yet to see the inside of. It was big, bigger than my grandparent's garage, and it only held one of their many cars, which I presumed to be either Edward's or Emmett's. Otherwise, it was set up like a home gym, complete with a treadmill, dumbbells, padded mats, a bench press, numerous weights, and a punching bag, suspended from the ceiling.

As soon as I saw the punching bag, I put two and two together.

"Why are we hitting the punching bag?" I questioned, sounding cynical.

Alice didn't answer me, and walked over to a plastic bin and pulled out a pair of black boxing gloves, putting them on expertly and tightening them. She walked gracefully over to the bag and slammed her fist into it, her face looking somewhat scary as it contorted in rage.

I was speechless as I watched her relentlessly attacking it. But she wasn't just doing that. In between every hit, she was saying, "Freaking – running – away – and making me – worry – then – she won't even – talk – to me! Have to – call her grand – parents – didn't even – show – their – damn – concern! Aggh!"

Startled, I dropped the gloves. She was yelling about me. I had made her worry? How? I hadn't thought she cared, really. She hadn't seemed like it, anyway, especially after she had ratted me out.

"They're – her – grandparents – after all – shouldn't – they be – a little – more lenient – friggin' a!"

She suddenly stopped, breathing heavily, her chest heaving. She spun around on her heels and threw the gloves to the ground. "That is why I'm upset. Now you tell me your side," she motioned at my boxing gloves on the ground.

I furrowed my brow, not sure how much I was willing to give away. But she did look less stressed, so if beating the crap out of a punching bag would make me feel even a little less like shit, then hey, why not? I plucked the gloves off the ground and slipped them on, tightening them like Alice had. I gave them an experimental swing.

I approached the bag. I punched it, and immediately winced.

Alice giggled a little, but she stopped and her voice was hard again. "It hurts a little if you don't do it right," she said. "Just do your best."

I stared at the red and black lining of the bag. I clenched my hands into fists, letting everything I was angry about filter into them. And then I started swinging.

"I told – him – so many – times – but he wouldn't – believe – me! I told him Jasper – and I – didn't – have sex – but he – never – believes me! My stupid – clueless – asshole – for a father! He always – expects – the – worst from – me – and that's – exactly what I give him, because," my swings faltered, arms tired. I slumped to the ground and continued, "Because no matter what I do, nothing's ever good enough for him. In his eyes, I'll always be a failure, so why even try?

"Me and Jazz had gone to this party, just to hang out," I said tiredly. I felt Alice's eyes boring into my back, but she didn't say anything. "There was alcohol, and at first I refused to have any. But then Jazz said that just one drink couldn't hurt, so I had one. And then I just kept drinking until I didn't even know who I was anymore.

"The next morning, I woke up, and Jasper and I were in a random bed, with no clothes on. I couldn't remember hardly anything from the party, and before I could get my clothes back on, some guy from school walked in and saw us together. He grinned, and even though I chased him out, he got pictures of me and Jazz…"

I paused. I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep talking. But then Alice placed a hand on my shoulder soothingly.

"It wasn't like anything was showing, but when those pictures got online, and my dad somehow found them… he was so mad," I hiccupped. "He said he didn't even know who I was anymore. He kept talking about the cute little girl who used to wear pigtails and hold onto his legs when he walked." I was crying steadily now, my words becoming jumbled.

"I told him that nothing happened. And I'm sure nothing did. I figured that after my first time, I would feel different, or at least sore, but there was no pain. I tried to tell my mom that, but she just shook her head. Even my mother gave up on me. Dad wanted me to get one of those rape tests, to be sure, but I didn't want one. I just wanted him to trust me," I sobbed, covering my face with my hands.

Alice wrapped her arms around me, and I let her.

Why didn't he trust me?

We stayed there for a long time. I sobbed and sobbed until my voice got hoarse, and I had to go back in the house.

"I need –" I hiccupped, much to my embarrassment, "I need to finish cleaning."

Alice furrowed her brows at me, but nodded. She hadn't said anything the whole time during my crying, and I was happy with that. There wasn't anything she _could_ say, anyway.

When we walked into the kitchen, Alice stopped me and we both listened, as we could hear Edward and Emmett talking in the other room.

"–such a baby, Edward."

For a second my heart constricted because I thought Emmett was laughing and talking about me, but then Edward responded, "No I'm not!"

"Yeah, dude, you are."

"Hey! She kneed me! It wasn't like she kicked me, where there might be some room for her to miss! She _kneed me_! And it hurt a lot! There was crushing and immediate pain!"

I slapped my hand over my mouth to keep my laughter from being heard. Alice looked at me quizzically, cocking her head to the side.

"Man, you've gotta be kidding me. Just suck it up."

"Have you ever been _kicked_ down _there_?" Edward hissed.

Suddenly, Alice's eyes widened, and she had to slap her hand over her mouth too, as she put two and two together. But she was too late, because a slight giggle escaped between her fingers, and the living room went silent.

When Emmett walked in and Edward didn't, I let my hand fall and burst into the biggest laughter I had experienced since arriving in Phoenix. Alice and I leaned against eachother, holding our sides. Emmett stared down at us, amused, as we eventually collapsed onto the ground, red in the face from laughing so hard.

"Oh shut up!" Edward yelled. But that only made us giggle harder, and then Emmett chuckled slightly.

It ended soon, though. I took a few deep breaths and sighed, smiling a little.

Emmett helped me and Alice to our feet and I grinned at him.

He looked between the two of us, suddenly with a worried look on his face. He leaned close to me, and I realized that my eyes must have looked awful, because he asked, "Have you been crying?" in way too loud of a voice.

That sobered me up instantly. I frowned, and shrugged. "Yeah." My voice was still awfully dry.

I looked at Alice. I realized that I wasn't upset with her anymore, not really. Maybe about getting me in trouble. But I understood her, and hopefully, she understood me. However, I wasn't comfortable with anyone else knowing why I was stuck there, so I sent her a message with my eyes, silently begging her to keep her big mouth shut, just this once. She seemed to get it and smiled.

"Yup. She was crying because I punched her in the face."

Emmett looked startled for a second, but then I grinned at his sister. "Ha! Sure, Alice," I said.

I don't know why I did what I did next. But it was a sudden impulse that I was unable to ignore. I gave Alice a tight hug, and I whispered, "Thank you," so quietly in her ear that even I could barely hear it.

She hugged me back and whispered, "Any time."

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**Hope you enjoyed it! :)**

**Asta-la-bye-bye!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! Sorry to get this too you late and so short. :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

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Edward P.O.V.

Three days after Bella decided to knee me in the nuts, things were starting to get really weird in my house. Alice and Bella started getting along well. Really well. It was freaking me out.

In addition to that, Emmett had become all chummy with her. Hell, he even wanted to invite her to the party he was planning for Crazy Mike's.

But worst of all, I realized that I was beginning to like her too. Just a little. Just enough to worry myself.

Bella P.O.V.

It was Friday the 17th – not six days after my punishment began – that something happened to derail it.

I came downstairs dressed in my usual clothes with my usual pony-stump and my usual scowl to find my grandpa and his friends at it again. They sat around the kitchen table, drinking beer and eating potato chips while they played poker. I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall, staring at the back of Grandpa's balding head. He didn't notice me. Neither did everyone else – except for Billy. When I came around the corner, he gave me a slight nod, which I returned.

I loved Billy. He was like the grandfather I wished I could have.

Billy winked at me from across the table, and I grinned back. I liked watching him kick everyone's butt at poker – even if it meant being in the same room as my grandpa.

"Now that Isabella has joined us," Grandpa said, making me jump, "why don't you say hello, Jacob?"

Jacob? I turned around, and to my surprise there was an unfamiliar guy sitting on the couch, drinking a soda.

He nodded at me, like all boys do. "Hey."

"Hi," I responded, not sure why he was there.

"Bella, this is my grandson, Jacob," Billy said. I cocked my head at him. "Peter thought that you two would get along nicely, so I brought him with me today."

I sent my iciest glare toward Grandpa, but he had already put all of his attention back on the poker game, effectively shutting me out. Again.

I turned to Jacob, who was looking at me like he would rather be getting brain surgery than sitting in my grandparents' living room.

"Uh, hi," I said, uncomfortable beneath his gaze. He looked to be around as tall as Edward, but had a much tanner skin tone and Native American features. He looked like a much younger, handsomer Billy. His black hair was short and a little messy, like he'd been dragged to the house without time to brush it.

Jacob sighed and took a sip of his soda.

_Okay?_

The doorbell rang then, and I was almost happy that I could escape the awkwardness that Jacob made me feel. But Grandpa managed to somehow beat me to the door and he opened it.

"Hello, Edward," he said.

Edward looked a little confused, but he said, "Hi, Peter."

"I'm sorry, but Bella won't be cleaning today. She'll make up for it tomorrow."

What neither me nor Edward mentioned was that with me coming over every day – plus the Cullens' mom was a total neat freak – the house hardly needed to be touched with cleaning supplies. It basically sparkled on its own now. The past couple of days had consisted of Alice trying to get me to watch Gilmore Girls and Emmett trying to get me to play videogames.

"Okay," Edward said, looking over my grandpa's shoulder and at me. He gave me a look that asked me, _what the hell is going on?_

I jerked my head at Jacob lounging on the couch beside me. When Edward's eyes landed on the guy, they suddenly flamed up. His eyebrows scrunched up and his mouth turned down.

Grandpa didn't seem to notice his change in facial expression. "Have a good day, son," he said, shutting the door before I could fully decipher the look on Edward's face.

Jacob snorted. "You have to clean Cullen's house?"

I turned back to him, crossing my arms. "Yeah."

He quirked an eyebrow. "And why's that?"

This annoyed me for some reason. I hardly knew this guy. Why did he even care? "None of your business."

Grandpa smacked me on the back of my head, and I hissed, "Ow!" Damn old man.

"Be nice. You two are going to get along whether you like it or not."

Jacob chuckled and put his clunky hiking-boot-covered feet up on the coffee table. "Really, Pops? And who's gonna make us?"

I smiled a little bit at that, but hid it quickly when I heard Billy's stern grunt from the kitchen table.

Grandpa sighed and said to me, "You're going to be nice, got it? I don't want to hear that mouth of yours spouting off crap." He turned away, and I made a face at him, behind his back. The other guys at the table all caught it and started howling with laughter. Grandpa whipped around to glare at me, but by that time I was already looking at Jacob again.

"So your name is Bella?" He asked, flashing me a grin. He reminded me of the Cheshire cat, with that cheeky look plastered on his face. Like a cat that just got the canary.

"Yeah," I said. "And your name is Jacob."

"Call me Jake." He insisted, grinning yet again.

I smiled, but it was fake and quick. "Uh, sure."

Then an awkward silence ensued. I stood there, my arms crossed, tapping my fingers to a song stuck in my head. He sat there, staring off into space and sipping his soda. I imagined if we had met outside of my grandparent's house, we probably would have hit it off. Maybe even kissed or danced. But something about being set up by your Grandpa throws your whole world off. It's not _natural_.

Sighing, I sat down on the couch next to Jake and turned on the TV with the remote. He sighed too and held up his soda next to my remote.

"Cheers," he said, smiling wryly.

Edward P.O.V.

Was that seriously Jacob Fucking Black? Was he actually sitting in Bella's living room, drinking a Coke, _nodding_ at me like we were buds or something?

I'd heard of stuff like this happening, but only in movies and shit. It was like a stupid soap opera.

I walked into the house in a daze, my head still trying to process everything. Seeing Jacob again, this soon after school got out really threw me. It had been hard enough seeing him in the hallway after _she_ dumped me. Not to mention the fight…

I was thrown from my daze when Emmett grabbed my shirt, shook me, and yelled, "Dude, come back down to Earth!"

"Huh?"

"I _said_, 'You look like crap. Where's Bells?'"

"Not coming. She's got other plans today."

Emmett cocked his head to the side. "But what about Peter? Won't he be pissed?"

"Obviously he wasn't, since he was the one who answered the door and then shut it in my face. But not before I saw Jacob Black sitting in their house."

Then my brother gasped – like an actual dramatic intake of breath. I'd only heard _that_ shit in movies too.

"So if you don't mind, I'm going to go to my room now."

I felt Emmett's eyes on my back, but I didn't turn around. He knew the jist of what had happened, but I hadn't really explained the gory details to anyone. Nobody knew exactly what had gone down between me and Tanya, not even Alice. And I was planning on keeping it that way.

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**Review please! I like knowing what you guys are thinking! It motivates me to write more! :) **

**Asta-la-bye-bye!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Oh my gosh! I got a lot of reviews! They really made my day, guys c: Just for that, here's a new chapter! I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

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Bella P.O.V.

The next three hours of my life were a little more than agonizing. We just sat there, staring at the stupid TV like we were actually enjoying it. My grandpa and his friends didn't seem to notice our lack of conversation, which just seemed sad because the old men were having more fun than us teenagers were.

But then the front door open and Grandma walked in the house. I had never been happier to see her in my life.

"Grandma!" I said, standing up and walking over to her.

She cocked her head at me. "What are you still doing here, Bella?"

"She and Jacob are becoming friends," Grandpa called.

I heard Jacob snort from his place on the couch. I refrained from snorting along with him and said, "If you can even call it that."

Grandma looked at me sympathetically and then walked into the kitchen. I heard a whistle of appreciation – no doubt coming from James, the lecher - and then someone yelling, "Ow! What did you hit me for?"

Billy answered, "For being a damn pervert."

I walked into the kitchen and went to the fridge, grabbing myself a soda. I cracked it open and took a sip, reveling in the feel of the cool drink sliding down my throat. As I walked back towards the living room, I listened to the chattering of the elderly.

Grandma laughed. "Hey boys, are you all joining us for lunch? I'm making chili and cornbread."

"Chili?" Phil asked incredulously. "In this weather?"

Grandpa guffawed. "You won't care about that once you taste Lorraine's famous chili."

"There he goes again, bragging about his wife," Billy chuckled.

I sat back down on the couch next to Jacob, who was busy trying to crush his soda can against his forehead. From some of the noises he was making, he wasn't having much luck.

"You bored?" I asked.

"No," he said sarcastically, "I'm totally entertained right now. There's nothing in the world that I would rather be doing than sitting here in a house that smells like cookies and old people."

I scowled at his response, and he grinned back at me. "I'm just messing with you." He looked away, his eyes back on the TV. "So how come I've never met you before?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I live in this neighborhood. And I've met your grandparents; I just wanted to know why I haven't seen you around." He kept staring at the TV, not looking back at me once while he talked. It was creeping me out a little.

"Oh," I said, "um, it's a long story."

Jacob gestured behind us at the kitchen. "Hell, I'm not going anywhere. We've got plenty of time to kill."

I sighed. "I came to visit my grandparents for the summer. I live in Tucson, which I is why you haven't seen me." After I said it, I felt stupid for calling it a long story, but Jacob didn't bring it up.

"Ah," he said.

I bit my lip and brought my legs up onto the couch, curling into a ball. "I've been here for almost two weeks, and I haven't seen you either."

I know it wasn't the brightest thing I could have said. But I was, surprisingly, trying to keep our conversation going. If I could make just _one_ friend outside of the Cullens in Phoenix, then I would feel a lot better. Just because I wouldn't feel like such a loser if they weren't the only people I associated with.

"Yeah," he grinned as he talked and finally turned to look at me. "I haven't been hanging around here as often as I usually do."

"Oh." I felt a little disappointed at this. "Why not?"

"Because of my girlfriend." His eyes got a dreamy look and he leaned back, putting his arms behind his head. "She's been keeping me busy this summer."

"Oh," I said. "Well, that's cool."

We got silent again after that. I stayed curled up, taking a few more sips of my soda before setting it on the coffee table. The TV was playing a rerun of Gilligan's Island. Great, I thought, now the theme song will be stuck in my head for the rest of this day.

A half-hour passed, and I was starting to get uncomfortable again. I was bad with silence. Usually I would plug my iPod into my ears and blast it, but once again I was reminded of its absence. Thinking about it put me in a sour mood.

"So," Jacob said, startling me. "You clean the Cullens' house?"

I sighed. So he was back to this again. "Yes."

"How come?"

Why did he want to know so badly? "I got in trouble, okay? It's not really any of your business."

Jacob held his hands up. "Whoa, whoa, I was just asking."

"Yeah, well _don't_."

There was a beat of silence. And then he broke it again.

"Hey, you wanna know a secret?" He asked, smiling like the Cheshire Cat again.

"Sure."

Jacob leaned over and said, "Cullen hates me. You saw the way he looked when he saw me, right?"

I furrowed my brow. Edward had been looking at Jacob? He continued, "We got into a fight halfway through the school year, and I gave him a black eye. Totally beat the crap out of him." He laughed at this, as if it was somehow funny.

My blood felt like it was boiling. I hissed, "Because violence is just awesome, isn't it?" Picturing Edward all beat up somehow made me _furious_. "Why the hell did you two fight?" I asked, resisting the urge to smack Jacob across the face.

Jacob seemed oblivious to my anger and said, "Because my girlfriend… used to be his girlfriend." He cracked a smile, and I completely lost it.

I stood up, picked up my soda, and dumped it on top of his stupid head.

He gasped from shock and started breathing hard, glaring up at me. The kitchen went silent, and I felt everyone's eyes on us. Jacob stood up fast, towering over me. "You bitch!" He shouted.

My heart was pounding but I stood my ground, crushing the aluminum can in my hand. I narrowed my eyes. "That was for Edward."

His nostrils flared, and for a second I was almost afraid that he was going to punch me. But he just let out a frustrated noise and spun on his heels, opening the door and slamming it behind him as he left.

I let myself relax and looked at my grandma and grandpa, bracing myself for what they would say.

But instead Billy started laughing, shocking me completely. "That kid had that one coming."

I was speechless.

Grandpa stood up and walked over to the couch and stared down at the huge brown splotch on the couch. He looked up at me, his grey eyes calculating. I waited for the yelling to start, for my cue to run up the stairs and slam my door shut.

But he smiled. My _grandpa Peter_ smiled at me.

"Jacob has been needing a good kick in the butt. That's why Billy brought him over here. He figured you could set him straight if he did anything out of line."

I was even more speechless.

Billy chuckled, and I looked at him. "You're a good kid, Bella," he said, smiling kindly. "I trust you. I'm sure he deserved it."

_You're a good kid... I trust you._ Hearing those words describing me almost made me cry. But I held them back and smiled at Billy, who was quickly becoming the grandfather I wish I could have.

"But you still need to clean this up," Grandpa said sternly, though not rudely. That was probably the best I would get from him now.

"I know. Sorry for getting it on the couch." I said sincerely, seeming to surprise my grandpa. He smiled again, a little one.

That tiny smile gave me some hope.

Edward P.O.V.

After moping around in my room for about fifteen minutes, I had decided to get the hell out of the house. I laced up my running shoes, changed into my workout clothes, and ran out the door, ignoring Emmett's demands to know where I was going.

I ran for a long time, enjoying the solitude and the feel of my shoes slapping against the sidewalk.

It was almost dusk by the time I got back to the cul-de-sac. Not really wanting to go back inside my house, I sat down on the curb near Bella's house. Inside, I could barely hear the sounds of laughing and talking. It sounded like there was a lot of people visiting.

I imagined Jacob being in there, talking with Bella, telling her all sorts of things about me that weren't true. He was just that kind of jackass. I clenched my teeth together to keep myself from shouting with frustration.

Knowing Bella, she would believe every word he said... and end up hating me even more. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, feeling more depressed about that than anything. I had been trying to "be good" or whatever Alice had said.

_"Edward," she had said, "if you don't stop being rude to Bella, she's going to end up despising you so much that she won't even acknowledge your existence." She was in the bathroom, and I had just been passing by, minding my own business, when she decided to give me a lecture. She was putting on some weird green stuff that girls use on their faces. _

_I raised my eyebrows. "And what makes you think that I care?" _

_She gave me a look. "Trust me. I know you care."_

_How did she know that? Alice freaked me out with her intuitiveness. It was like she just knew everything._

_"Alice, it's hard to take you seriously when you have that green crap all over your face."_

_She scoffed. "It is not crap, big brother. It's a facial mask."_

_"Okay." I said. "Whatever. I'll be nice to Bella."_

And I had been. I hadn't randomly kissed her, or called her a brat, or locked her in my room. We even had a decent conversation or two. Emmett got her to play a couple rounds of Halo Reach, and even though it was tempting, I didn't even kill her. (She killed herself a lot, though.)

I had tried so hard. And now I felt like my last chance at winning her over had vanished.

Just then the door of Bella's house opened. I heard muffled curses and then a slam. I stood up and turned around to find Jacob Fucking Black walking out of her house, shaking his arms, dripping with some kind of brown liquid.

I wanted to laugh, but I just waited until he saw me. When he did, his eyes widened comically and he said, "What're you looking at, _Cullen?"_

The way he said my name was like a curse. It seemed so childish. It almost made me want to laugh.

"Nothing, Jacob. Nothing at all."

He walked up to me, puffing his chest out, trying to intimidate me. "You wanna go? Huh?"

I didn't know where he learned to talk smack, but it sounded like it was from his grandmother. "Not really." I muttered, looking down at him. He was tall, but not as tall as me, which certainly helped me with my confidence.

"That _Bella_ chick. You like her?" He asked, glaring at me under his brow.

The way he said her name mirrored the way he had said mine, and I got suspicious. "Why?"

"I just wanted to tell you to get out while you can," he sneered. "She's a little bitch."

I snapped my fist back and punched him in the face as hard as I could. He went sprawling, falling down and hitting the curb. He cursed under his breath, and glared up at me.

I grabbed the front of his soaked t-shirt and pulled him to his feet, shaking him for good measure. "Don't you _ever_ talk about her like that," I snarled, feeling fury course through me, making me shake. "Or else."

He tried to seem like I hadn't fazed him, but he was trembling under my hand. I imagine he was remembering our first fight, and how it hadn't gone too well for his face. Or his stomach. Or his back. I had beaten the crap out of him and had gotten in so much trouble with my parents that I had only been off of grounding a few days before Bella came to the neighborhood.

"Or else what?" He asked, his voice sounding almost tough. Almost.

"Or else I will tear you apart," I said, shoving him back on the ground. "You got that?"

He took off, scrambling to get up and away from me.

"And while you're at it," I called after him, "just stay the hell away from her!"

Bella P.O.V.

That night, I lay on my bed, unable to fall asleep. I had gotten ready for bed around eight because between Jacob and Billy and the impossibility of everything, I was so tired that I could have fallen asleep standing up.

I had gotten the soda out of the couch before it stained, so my grandma gave me ten dollars for a job well done. Then, as Billy was leaving, he had taken me aside and talked to me for around an hour, about his reasons regarding his grandson.

_"I just don't want you to think I'm being needlessly cruel to him, Bella. That boy has caused me a lot of grief over the years. He stole my money a while back to buy something for his girlfriend because he forgot about her birthday until the very last second. And he's still refusing to pay me back."_

_I sat there, wondering what it was with grandparents and their grandchildren these days. It felt like no matter where I looked, there were situations like mine, where I could almost never get along with my grandpa. Up until that day, at least. _

_"By bringing him here, I was hoping to get him to understand that he's headed down a very dark path. He's getting out of control."_

_"But I don't think that trying to force him out of his bad ways are going to help anyone," I said. "He's either going to get better or worse on his own." _

_Billy stared at me, a gleam of surprise in his dark eyes. "Is that really how you feel?" _

_"Yes."_

_Billy scratched his chin and smiled. "Well, then. I'll see you next week, Bella. Have a good day." _

And just like that, he left, leaving me more confused than I had been before.

I groaned, rolling over to the cold side of my bed. I just didn't get it anymore. Everything and everyone around me was constantly changing, so much so that even I had changed, just a little. But it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I noticed that I didn't mouth off as much as before, at least to my grandparents, which certainly helped to keep my life simpler. The Cullens only bothered me every now and then, not nearly as much as they used to. Especially Edward. He had definitely backed off, giving me some space. It was nice, and yet I found a part myself wishing that he _wouldn't_ back off.

I smiled as I thought Edward. Then I stopped smiling, because I wasn't sure why thinking about him made me smile.

* * *

**I seriously wasn't planning on making Jacob a jerk, so I apologize to any Jacob fans who may be upset about that. I had actually wanted him to be nice. He just sorta turned out to be a butt munch... The characters seem to take control and say what they want to say whether I like it or not c:**

**Let me know what you guys think! I love hearing your opinions. They give me ideas sometimes, and inspire me :)**

**Asta-la-bye-bye!**


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